Vintage4x4parts Seller on Ebay- Front Doors (1 Viewer)

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Another lower-risk option I'm considering is buying landcruiser heaven's outer door skins. If I get stiffed, I'd be bummed but not devastated. I'm willing to do some surgery to graft these on- anything but welding on the flat open areas of the outer skins. Bottom line, there are options out there, but nothing is plug and play...


As for these companies being under-capitalized and not holding inventory- I agree. It perhaps tells you about their level of faith in their products that they're not willing to put their own money at risk.
 
Problem #2, the goofballs haven’t figured out the doors / skins need to be shipped in a decent box. LCH sent me three doors before I got an undamaged one. Ridiculous. Would you believe bubble wrap and packing tape?
 
My Columbian rear fenders where heaved into a cut-down refrigerator box, loosely taped shut, and oddly were only slightly damaged upon arrival. Maybe some more shipping damage could have made them fit better ;).
 
I picked up a pair of those full doors - similar to the play above, figured worst case they'd be expensive donor skins but not a total loss. My OEM doors had already been patched up once before, and they rotted again well above where any typical patch panel would go.

They're about as expected...seems like the die stamping is ok, but they were a bit warped from assembly. The hinge pocket shape is just slightly different in the curve (but more rounded vs the ever so slight trapezoid shape of the OEM), but I don't think most would notice offhand. I did some initial jigging/working on them, and they're falling into shape, but definitely not bolt-on/ready to go by any means. Drivers door was mainly the window frame, which was easier to work...passenger door has a bow in the rear lip on the main body, which is taking a bit more to straighten but I think it'll get there. Haven't tried any of the latches yet, but the hinge points did line up correctly.

The door pair at least shipped in a plywood freight box, but they were just bubble wrapped together and plopped inside unsecured.
 
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Did your door stay line up?
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Nope, looks about like yours - good catch. Doesn't look too bad to fix (bust out the spot welds and retack it), but definitely needed to catch before paint...after is a bit more of a pickle. I didn't snag a photo, but my driver's door has one of the hinge recesses off center...but only that door. The hinge itself seems in the right spot, but it's not centered in the pocket...super odd.

I'm working on the front clip at the moment...fighting some aftermarket fenders (Taiwan via CCOT). Seems like the passenger side is assembled wonky there too...go figure. I'll be back at the doors next, slowly working to realign everything. Feels a bit 50/50 as to whether to use the replacement doors with some bending, or to bite the bullet and cut the lower off and patch my OEM up...but that pinch seam is pretty rough for quite a way up the door, past where typical patch panels go.

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Holy Jeeze that's a lot of rust! Good on you for bringing her back!

Is the hinge recess off center enough that it's easily noticeable?
 
My hat is off to anyone in the Midwest working with old Toyotas. I grew up in Michigan and in high school, I saw one FJ40 that was not more than 6 years old, and it had a grapefruit-sized rust hole in the rear fender (already, at that time) and rust everywhere else.
 
Believe it or not, we redid it once before in '88...lower door patches, rockers, front fenders, rear door, tub reskinned. :oops:
It was a daily driver, it earned it's keep...we've had it since new. I'm guessing it likely would've ended up a parts donor vs fixing, but it's got some extra sentimental value.

Poked at the doors a bit, looks like it's moreso the captive nuts/holes that are off vs the pocket/dimple. If I pull the rear two, I can get the hinge/door to sit better...hinge actually sits cockeyed if you use all three. Easier fix at least...but... 🤔

The set I received is definitely racked/twisted too - curious how @fjc-man found his in that regard. I'm sure I can work them back, but the window frames on mine were very twisted outward.

Squared up:
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Hole error:
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Crooked hinge with the bolts all installed:
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And a comparison view of the OEM pocket - can see it follows the hinge shape a bit better. Bit more pointed, less rounded, like the hinge itself:

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My hat is off to anyone in the Midwest working with old Toyotas. I grew up in Michigan and in high school, I saw one FJ40 that was not more than 6 years old, and it had a grapefruit-sized rust hole in the rear fender (already, at that time) and rust everywhere else.

Correct. Any Northeast FJ40 that was not babied rusted real fast. Especially with winters using salt on roads.
 
Alright, so I ended up biting the bullet and ordering (err, getting on the waiting list for) some Gozzard front doors. This will definitely be the most expensive part of my build project. Oh well. I'm just sick of dealing with the front doors. I'd have to basically sculpt them out of body filler in order to make them presentable, and I can't imagine it would hold up over over the years the doors being slammed shut.

The south american doors sound like just as much work as trying to fix my current doors, and the used doors I've seen are in much worse shape than what I started with... There are a few NOS doors on ebay in egypt, but they want a fortune for them and one of them looks like somebody took a sledge hammer to it.

So, screw it. Yolo. I have more money than sense, apparently. :)

There's a long lead time on these things though- he said they likely won't have time to even start making them until august. eek.

I'll post a thread about them once I get them.
 
Plonking here for a bit of extra info on the doors mentioned in this thread for anyone that finds it later...had dunked this in my build thread, but not always the easiest to find that way. Should have some relevant nuggets around getting those eBay doors fitting.


For those that have used these doors, did you find the issues he addresses as pretty standard? From what I see they are a bit of a PITA but not insurmountable for my skill level. If so, I may roll the dice and get a set.
 
For those that have used these doors, did you find the issues he addresses as pretty standard? From what I see they are a bit of a PITA but not insurmountable for my skill level. If so, I may roll the dice and get a set.
As far as aftermarket parts go, they're not the worst I've seen, workable but not plug and play bolt-on... about on par with the Taiwan front fenders. I do still need to sort out the drivers side hinge bolt holes, but should be doable. I didn't film it, but the drivers door did need a fair bit of yanking to bend it into shape, but at least no cutting/welding...out of the crate, the top was out about an inch and a half.

Seller also seemed pretty reasonable if a replacement needed, so that's also a positive. It seemed like the door limiter is pretty often off...not sure on the banana effect, guessing less common. I haven't tried mounting any of the internal hardware yet, so not sure if there's any surprises there.
 

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