I think just about every piece of one of the trucks has been repaired by somebody at one time or another. So I guess it's not a question of can these be repaired but should I. I would like to keep as much of the original truck as possible as opposed to taking out the credit card and buying all new metal. I'd rather patch than replace where possible. Take a look at these and tell me what you think. They are eat up pretty good along the bottom. It definitely will need new skin on the outside but the bottom inside are chewed up as well. This is only one door inside and out but the other one is in almost identical condition. Come to think of it I've seen the outer replacement skins for sale but not sure about the inner portion of the door. Just looking for a nice solid truck...no show truck aspirations here. Any guidance would be appreciated.

 

sorry / grabbed the wrong pics...the dog is beyond repair and irreplaceable

here are the doors


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If you want to see a great gallery with the door skins being replace go to this link https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...?userid=201514
This is Randy Jacks gallery, he has some great pictures while doing a door. Great looking dog.

 

i would repair them. in fact i did. mid fifty has repair panels.

 

I agree that you should repair them and the dog. All the patch panels are available and you can always get a new leash.

 

Was the dog originally rust colored or do you let him get too far along too?

 

For what the patch panels sell for, you could probably find a much better (not perfect) pair of doors. I don't know that they sell the inner bottoms? What does the rest of the cab look like?

 

Fix them, it's really not too hard. My car had the corners roated out on the bottom and the sides, only took a few hours to fix.

And lol @ Julies

 

OK Mike, your profile says you are in NC, where? How much body work experience do you have? What kind/size of welder do you have? How much sheet metal welding experience do you have? Do you have a good sized compressor and a good selection of tools such as DA sander, in-line sander, angle grinder (size), body hammers and dollies, etc? Are you good with your hands and eyes, a somewhat fussy perfectionist, and a dedicated learner willing to invest the time and practice required? Are you wanting to fix them just to save money?
If the answer to the last question is yes, and don't have a lot of the former, then the answer to your question is no, by the time you buy everthing you need, it would be a lot less expensive to find/buy a good set of used doors. If you really want the learning experience and are willing to make the tool investment necessary, then yes, the learning experience is worth it if you will put it to further use. The learning curve would be a lot shorter tho if you take some classes or work with someone who has the skills and is willing to share them with you. If you want to preserve and use as much of the original truck as possible, for sentimental or other personal reasons, and cost/hands on experience is secondary, then I'd suggest letting someone else do the major portion of the metal replacement or the entire job for you. Door skin patching, since the panels are so large and prone to warping is not the easiest place to start learning body work. Maybe you can find someone willing to let you assist/watch over their shoulder.

 

Mike--fix em.....You should see some that are really rotted....haha
AX is the man and RandyJack is also the man.......2 men....haha
ANYWAY....yes...by all means fix them.....they are NOT bad. I do agree that the patch panels or skins costs total enough...that you could buy a nicer door with the money....but do what you need to.

The dog is awesome....do not let the dog talk you into throwing those doors away...what does a dog know about bodywork? He is cute ...but not a bodyman like AX and R.J. and I am not too shabby either....haha.Bill

 

Here's another point to consider...IF you found a good set of doors, what's to say that the outer skin is being held together by nothing more than the paint? I make this point because I have seen many doors that LOOK great until you remove the paint. Ford did not spend a lot of time sealing and weatherproofing these trucks, virtually every door that I have seen has had rust in the bottom seam. Bottom line; you know what you have with your doors, go ahead and install the patch panels and seal it up well. Look into the structural adhesives, much of what you need to bond together can be done without welding. A HF flange tool may become your new best friend.

 

well they certanlly look repairable but we cant make the decision for you its all up to how good you are at welding/body work