‘78 doors (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Feb 21, 2009
Threads
27
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172
Location
Tampa, FL
I picked up this set of doors for $50 for the pair. At the time I thought it was the deal of the century. I thought I would by the lower patch Panels and have a great set of doors.

after doing some reading up on the patch panels, it’s becoming clear that people with a lot more welding experience than I have are struggling to repair these due to heat warping.

is anyone actually having success fixing these?
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I am not a skilled welder by any means, and nowhere did it show more than door patches. It sucked to do and turned out horribly with warping and stuff. I’m going to make it work by covering up the ugliness with fiberglass and bondo. Not ideal at all, but I’m going with it for now. I imagine a good welder could do ok with it. But definitely don’t try it if you are not a skilled welder.

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$50 is a steal either way, those are pretty decent still. The more factory metal you can keep, the easier the patching should go...doesn't look like those are rotted too far up.

Go slow and it'll be fine...or sell em to someone else on the boards here, either way you'll work out ok on the deal.
 
And I'd trade you for this pair anytime...I'd kill for OEM doors like that up here. 😆 I'm working with some aftermarket/SA doors since mine were past toast, and they have their own share of work to do.

Believe it or not, these were cutoff and patched once before, using a stick welder to boot - was all we had at the time. I was just a wee tot back then...but if I recall, we used air (or possibly water) to cool the metal between the weld stiches.

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I would suggest seeing if you can replace portions of the door (see below). Even if you have to do a few small patches it's easier to do than that long run right through a weak spot on the door.

If you do need a whole patch I have had good luck tacking from the middle out in each direction. Don't try to tack from the outside in. If you tack one side just a fraction longer than the other once you get to the middle you will have an oil can door for sure.

You have to go slow too. I use the 3 stitches then take a drink of beer method.

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Or you could sell them to me! I’m desperately looking for a set that only needs the real steel patch.
 

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