I am ready to put on my doors. Any advice on the proper order. Do I put the hinges on the cab first then connect to the door?

Should I install the glass before I hand the doors or would it be easier to do it after the doors are hung?

Is it easier to put the weather stripping around the door before it is installed or after?

 

I put my weather strip on with the doors off. I figured it would be easier to work around the hinges and the front of the door in general.

 

Install the hinges on the door, not too tight. I recommend first putting the doors on without the weather stripping and get things lined up real well. New weather stripping is fat and gets in the way when you are trying to get the gaps correct. It also relies on the door to shape it. You need the latches installed also before the weather stripping.

Ira this is a two man job, or one man and a boy job. Take your time, it took us a couple hours per door to get things just right. Tighten the hinges to the door real well and make sure you have good clearance everywhere. Mark the hinge to cab location and remove the door from the truck and install the weather stripping. Then reinstall. Getting the doors correct is extremely important, because the entire front clip's alignment depends on the doors.

I would definitely install the glass later, it only makes the door heavier.

I also recommend using tape to protect the door edges and the cab. see photo below. Don't leave the tape on too long (i.e. a week) and if it is cold, use a hair dryer to warm it up when you take it off so the tape doesn't pull the paint off. This picture also shows the fit up of the fender, that was done after the door, not before.

 

I did it the hard way....by myself. I had the hinges installed on the cab, no windows, no seals. I put a towel on my floor jack, placed the door on the jackstand/towel, found it's balance point so I wasn't fighting it, and very carefully move the door onto the hinges. I installed the door hingebolts and tightened a few, removed the floor jack, and started adjusting. Again,,,this is the hard way, it took a lot of time, and I would recommend 2 people.
For those who have a manual......isn't there something in there about putting the door on the hnges closing it and holding it in position and then installing the door hinge bolts from inside the cab?

 

If you didn't index the doors before removing them and assuming they fit good originally, then I would index them after you get them in the proper location. This is easily done by drilling two 1/8" holes at each hinge connection location. Then when you remove the doors to add the weatherstripping or glass or for whatever the reason you can re-install in the exact location by putting short 1/8" rods in the index holes and everything lines up. I usually do this when the doors are in primer and then when in final paint there is much less chance for messing up the new paint.

 

One other item, it is extremely important that the hinges are in good shape. If they need new bushings or pins, do this first, hinges with too much play make this almost undoable.

 

If your working by yourself, I found an engine hoist works ok to get them up in the air, use a strap slung thru window opening, nothing beats two people,.

 

Walston's method for initial fitting is right on. Get the gaps correct without windows in the doors or weatherstrip. Once you have the fit exactly right, index the doors as Leckart said. Then you can remove the doors to install glass and weatherstrip and they will index exactly back where they were.

Here's how I indexed my 56 doors: https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...&albumid=27817

I have had my doors on and off many times. I got really tired of adjusting them, especially working alone. Do the indexing once and you'll never have to adjust them again. The initial adjustment is preferrably a two-man job. Reinstalling them, after indexing, is an easy one-man job.

Good luck.

 

Randy Jack,


Nice pictures on the door project. I know when I get that far, I will be in contact with you. Right now the thought of the unknown is dark. One of the doors hit the fender as it opens, I"ll have a lot of work to do

Jim G

 

Great Gallery Randy Jack!

 

Nice documentation on the doors. I'll pass this along.You the man!