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Interested to hear if it was welded too. But I'm sure I've seen a YouTube video where they did that very job and there were spot welds involved. Will try and find it.
I thought that they were spot welded too. I saw they video your talking about and that's why I'm asking. I haven't tried too hard but my initial cleaning of the door edges didn't show the tell tell spots of spotwelding. Also would they have had to cover them on the outside of the door?
Are you looking to remove the skins to reuse or are you just removing them so that you can install new ones? The reason I ask is because the best way to remove a door skin is to grind through the edge (the folded over portion) of the OEM skin along the outer edge of the skin. Once that is done then remove the remaining lip from the inner side of the door. I use a chisel or sometimes a grinder to remove this lip. The skin should have been spot welded at the factory, today the skins are held I place with adhesives.
Charlie,
I was watching a episode of "Bitchin' Rides" where they widened the door on a 55 to extend a cab. I've always wanted a deeper cab but was afraid that adding an extension on the cab wouldn't turn out period correct. When they extended the doors you could hardly tell it was modified.
Last edited by bjmayberry2; Nov 23, 2016 at 12:21 PM.
Reason: Added Photo
Fabricators/customizers have been extending body sections for decades. I believe that the OEM vehicles of the 30s thru the 50s were built for drivers that were not as large as the general populace these days. Lengthening the body on the Model A and 32 Ford roadsters is very commonplace...one could even say that it has been done so often that it can be considered to be "period correct". I always like a custom touch that "looks" OEM but is just different enough to cause someone to scratch their head..."I know it's not factory but I can't tell what is different". Mods that are made to make the truck more comfortable to drive are always the best...especially when the finished job looks better than factory.
I haven't done my doors yet but a lot of the spot welds on bodywork are very hard to find even after stripping the paint. So I'd go with Charlie's suggestion.
Charlie,
I was watching a episode of "Bitchin' Rides" where they widened the door on a 55 to extend a cab. I've always wanted a deeper cab but was afraid that adding an extension on the cab wouldn't turn out period correct. When they extended the doors you could hardly tell it was modified.
I saw a portion of that episode where they added the 6 inch strip in the roof but this is the first photo I have seen of the completed truck. This pic looks like it was taken at the pavilion where the Super Nats was held last year. There is a significant amount of body mods on this truck, not to mention the bed reshaping. The roof work is especially nice where they removed the front drip rail and smoothed the body line. I think that if I was to do the mods to extend the door I would cut a 6 inch section out of a donor door and add it to the truck door in the center. A straight vertical cut down through the middle of the door should work perfectly and would keep the structural integrity of the new extended door.
I always like a custom touch that "looks" OEM but is just different enough to cause someone to scratch their head..."I know it's not factory but I can't tell what is different".
Me too.
Originally Posted by CharlieLed
There is a significant amount of body mods on this truck, not to mention the bed reshaping. The roof work is especially nice where they removed the front drip rail and smoothed the body line.
The front fender looks like they lengthened the wheelbase and moved the wheel well forward a little as well.
Every time I watch this show (or many others) I have to wonder how much cash gets placed on the table before the owner gets to drive the car home. This build had to be BIG $$$$.
