Door Patch Panel

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Nov 1, 2004 | 08:27 AM

WI0V

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Joined: Dec 2003

Posts: 5

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From: CLEVELAND, MO

Door Patch Panel

I need some help. I need to put a patch panel in the door of my 55. How do you open the seam on the bottom of the door? Is it spot welded? How is the best way to cover the seam?

Nov 1, 2004 | 05:13 PM

Steve_B

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Joined: Jul 2001

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From: West London, England

Yes the door skin is spot welded

sand the lip inside the door and you will see the welds, I use a spot weld removing drill that has a flat bottom and a spring loaded centre pin that dose a neat job of removing the welds, once the welds are removed carefully use a small chisel to fold back the lip

You can plug weld the folded lip or as I did use panel adhesive, do a search on the bodywork forum for more information, if you weld use a seam sealer inside and out to keep moisture out of the joint

Nov 1, 2004 | 06:54 PM

bobj49f2

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Joined: Jan 2001

Posts: 16,867

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From: SE Wisc. (the Rust Belt)

I have a page set up to describe the procedure that I use at:

Door rust repair

I hope this helps, good luck.

Nov 3, 2004 | 11:55 PM

1982fordf100

Elder User

Joined: Sep 2003

Posts: 926

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From: SE, Michigan

I plan on fixing the doors on my 82 F100 rather than buying used, aftermarket or new doors. Only about the bottom two inches have rust. I read the page on door rust repair. Only thing I like doing is using butt welds rather than lap welds. I also use butt weld clamps that I got from harbor frieght tools. I have 8 of them, you can see them in my gallery when I fixed the tailgate. They hold the sheet metal .040 of an inch apart and they work great. I've been looking around to see if anyone else trys to fix their doors rather than buy new ones.

Nov 4, 2004 | 09:34 AM

bobj49f2

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From: SE Wisc. (the Rust Belt)

I like over lapping the sheet metal, especially on the doors or any long length of sheet metal. I think it adds strength to the area and tends to limit warpage, especially the newer vehicles thinner metal. I try to stitch weld, about an inch or less at a time, alternating from one area to another to allow the first one to cool. I stitch weld until I have a continuous weld across the panel.

Everyone has their own way of doing things and whatever works best for you is the way you should do it.

Have at it!

Nov 4, 2004 | 02:46 PM

Narwhal

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Joined: Oct 2003

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From: Lewisville, NC

Bob-
With the overlapping weld technique, how do you rust proof the metal where it is overlapped?

-Scott

Nov 4, 2004 | 03:23 PM

effie1

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Joined: Nov 2003

Posts: 34

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Bob

Thanks for posting the detailed door repair. If I read it correctly you overlap the sheet metal on the outside and just spot weld it together. Then to compensate for the uneven layers you fill it with fiberglass puddy and body filler. Correct?

Do you have a picture of an actual door that you repaired this way? It can be either the finished product or a progress pic.

I have a couple minor rust spots on the doors as well and am interested in some more simple solutions like this one.

Keith

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Nov 4, 2004 | 05:40 PM

bobj49f2

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From: SE Wisc. (the Rust Belt)

I don't really worry too much about undercoating the metal that is overlapped. I seal the weld inside the panel as best as I can,where I can get to it. I try to connect the 1" stitch welds to make a continuous weld along the seem which seals it from the outside. I figure I don't run my truck in bad weather if I can help it so the exposure to the eliments is minimal. There are primers that you can spray on the metal before welding but I have never used them. These trucks were made with minimal protection from the inside, the cab I got for my pickup didn't have any paint at all under the dash, and they lasted fifty plus years.

The real trick is to do the welding with a minimal amount of warpage. The smaller wire used in a wire welder the less heat needed which translates into less warpage. I grind the "bead" of the weld as flat as I can and then apply body filler over it. You have to feather the filler into the surrounding area. The less warpage and weld build up, the less filler.

Heres a few pictures of the quarter panel on my panel. I used the same technique on all body patches.