I have had a set of power doors in the shed for years, sheet metal is fairy good, minor work to be done there.
I do remember that at least 1 window motor is bad.
I will be painting the whole truck, The truck is red, the power doors are white.
It will all be blue. I prefer to paint the doors resting on saw horses, (less apt to have the clear run this way).

So, since I have installed the harness into the truck dash, should I do the body work and finish paint on the doors, Then Install and troubleshoot the electrical?
OR
Install the doors, plug in and fight the electrical gremlins, ensure windows and locks work, Then remove and paint and then re-install?
Opinions?

 

I would kill the gremlins first so that you do not mess up the paint you worked so hard to apply.

 

To get the motors and actuators out you will have to drill rivets out. But, that's on the inside and won't jeopardize the outside so you could go ahead and paint it and then exorcise the gremlins. However, if it isn't too much trouble the best way is to hang the door, fix the gremlins, and then paint - as Critter said.

 

Glad I hung the door first! 4 hours and still can't get it right.
Chipping lots-0-paint. What a pain working 3 dimensions.

I was hoping I could just unbolt the old door from the hinge and bolt on the other and be fairly close.

Nope, I have to move the hinges on the pillar "in" so the rear of the door does not touch (and have some gap) at the rear of the cab.
Get that, and now huge gap on top.

Rotate the door in and door to low......you know the drill.

Trying to get to the pillar bolts is almost impossible with the front fender on, but I need the fender on since it is undisturbed.
Just got an idea! the fenders are junk and will be replaced, Soooo I think I'll brake out the plasma cutter and cut away a small section of fender to reveal the pillar bolts.
This way I can get to them with the door closed, hopefully get a good, even gap all around an tighten them down.

 

Creative!!

 

How would I proceed? Get someone else to do it!

 

Suckers are few and far between around here! especially to work on an 84!

 

My body man is almost ready to hang the doors, fenders, etc. Then he'll "tweak" each part, which may mean bend them, to fit. Once that's done he'll pull them off, fix any damage done, and re-prime and paint them.

 

It's not easy lining up body panels. And you have to remember also, American cars and trucks of this era are not known for their fit and finish, so you might have to live with some gaps that are not perfect.

 

So Dad's truck almost has a body again?

 

Yes and no. Last week he said he may need the frame next week to mount the body, fenders, et al. So, I'm supposed to be working on the frame to have it ready - but I'm behind, badly.

 

Ohh hanging doors... so fun. I'll be doing this with my 84 F250 shortly. I have done the door swap on my 89 F250 and learned its better to take off the fenders to get to the bolts. Align the door to the cab lines and bottom and top. Then work the fender in place. A 2nd person is very helpful too.

As for electrical, get it working before painting. Before installing the door's electrical harness(if you have it out) it is best to check each and every connector and fix now. I actually added solder to all connector pins where the wires copper show. It was time consuming pulling each and every pin from the connectors but that helped big time on power windows! After that, use dielectric grease in the plugs and that should last another 20 + years!

Still debating on putting power windows in my 84 F250. I have all the parts for the guts of the door(but bad motors). Just need to run the harness and get switches/door panel.