Working on 76 tub which will be fitted with a soft top. Was going to fit the small barn doors on the back, these were from a pre 75. It appears the small doors are narrrower than the original ambl doors. Did the opening change in 75?
Rear Doors Plan B
- Thread starter kjohnson
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
What is your measurement for the opening? I have a 11/75 hard top 40 and the opening is 41 inches wide.
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2004
- Threads
- 294
- Messages
- 5,723
- Location
- Cloverdale B.C. Canada
- Website
- www.instagram.com
my doors where to narrow also using a 78 tub.
i have read that some people have had no issues with putting them on the later tub just move them in a bit i moved mine in till they touched but now i have a space where the hinge meets the tub .
i have read that some people have had no issues with putting them on the later tub just move them in a bit i moved mine in till they touched but now i have a space where the hinge meets the tub .
- Thread starter
- #4
My 76 tube is 41 3/8, my 75 is about the same. If I move the doors till the latch would work the hinge holes are coming off the tub. Did the small door fit inside the opening or over lap the opening?
the opening on my 74 is approximately 41 1/4, each of the doors is roughly 20 3/4
I put some on an Aqualu tub, and they were too narrow. I just added about 1/2" - 3/4" (sorry can't remember exactly, it was last year) strip of 16 gauge to the inside edge of the right door. I then added the same to the hook so they would stay closed. Wasn't a huge deal, but it wasn't a "bolt on" either. Sorry, the pictures were after some body filler.
- Thread starter
- #7
I put some on an Aqualu tub, and they were too narrow. I just added about 1/2" - 3/4" (sorry can't remember exactly, it was last year) strip of 16 gauge to the inside edge of the right door. I then added the same to the hook so they would stay closed. Wasn't a huge deal, but it wasn't a "bolt on" either. Sorry, the pictures were after some body filler.
FF LC, That was my plan b to add some metal. On the hinge sides do the doors over lap the opening or fit inside of the opening?
You could always weld them together, change the hinges and make a tailgate.
the older tubs didn't have the lip. the distance between the pillars is the same but because of the lip you can't really bolt up the hinges to have the doors work out right. see my build thread... i had to weld in older style channels/rear sill to get the doors to fit right (i was welding in new metal anyways)
yes, the openings are different. Sometime 74/75 the opening gets wider on newer bodies. I can't recall the exact difference,
Looks like the edge along the hinge side overlaps the tub in you pictures. The should not, post some better pictures of how you have it lined up on the outside edge of the doors.
Turn them into a tailgate. 
Last edited:
The rear door changed when the amby doors were introduced in 1/1975.
Mine don't overlap the edges, either. When I did that, they didn't close right. Mine fit just inside/flush with the edge. It's not perfect, but I wasn't building a show car, either. You can see in the last picture why I wasn't all that worried about it - you can't really see the doors anyway!
However, I did think about building mine into a tail gate. Those look pretty cool in my opinion. I was just on a time crunch at time and needed to get this on the road. Maybe some day.
- Thread starter
- #16
The drop down gate is also a nice look. I have a custom swing out tire rack, which I am planning on making it pivot on both ends. The thought is the swing out doors may work better with it, need to do more lay out work first and then decide.
Thanks for all the suggestions and help.
Kevin
Thanks for all the suggestions and help.
Kevin
It makes a great table for the campstove on the trail. The half-doors are just always in the way.
spotcruiser said:It makes a great table for the campstove on the trail. The half-doors are just always in the way.
Sorry for interrupting the discussion, but "spotcruiser", could you post up a shot of how did you mount your mudflaps? Are they removable?
Yeah, mudflaps are a pain. They're handing out more tickets for lack of mudflaps these days, so I needed something. And they get in the way on the trail, so they need to be easily and quickly removed. I just made them out of 1" flatbar to fit the existing holes in the rear crossmember. The outer hole is for the tail light guard, which already has a captive nut. The inner two holes are for the bumperettes, which I don't have on my truck. For bolting, I just drilled and tapped a piece of 1/4" steel to suit the holes/bolts and RTV'd it in place on the back side. I'd have preferred to weld it, but the framework back there doesn't leave much working room. The RTV has held for several years without a problem. Even with the bumperettes, you could just space the outer end of the mudflap frame to suit. When I get to the trail, I pull the three bolts on each side, throw the mudflaps in the back of the truck, and reinstall the bolts while the tires are airing down. There are plenty of ways to do it, but this worked for me.
