60-66 Chevrolet & GMC Pickup Outer Door Skins

[1Bad62Pro/Street]

Well fellas sometime this year I will be purchasing outer door skins for my '62.
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=389552

We know all about repops and OEM. I have been looking at Classic Industries right now.
60-66 PICKUP LH/RH OUTER DOOR SKIN - $ 99.99 ea
http://www.classicindustries.com/tru...=1962&p=1&sb=0

With your experiences beating and banging to get these to fit properly which vendor do you recommend?
Any issues? Dented/warped? Quality? Not lining up worth a crap? Etc.
I just don't want to waste my money and have a Happy Gilmore moment trying to get them to fit.

Anyone buy any from Classic Industries?

[slorio]

Bad62:
Just bought one of those for my drivers door from Classic Industries. I paid $109/140 with shipping. Haven't installed yet. A few thoughts. Didn't realize that the top of them doesn't extend to the glass. It is just cut off midway between the mirror mount and the glass. Seems like a strange place to make a seam. Accordingly, I am planning to cut basically in half and make a lap joint along the middle body line. I am thinking that body line will give it more strength and fortunately the top of my original skin is okay. The other thing that I didn't realize about the skin is that it doesn't have the backing plate for the door handle that the original comes with. Since I am not using the top half, it doesn't matter to me, but if you use it, you will need to cut off the plate from your old door to reuse. Fit looks okay from comparing to my original. Fortunately, UPS didn't damage it in shipping. I am planning to weld in using and overlap at the middle body line. Use of a panel adhesive may be a better alternative, if you have it available.

Hope this helps.
Regards,
Steve
New Orleans

[k1rodeoboater]

ask me in about a month...I'm hoping to have my floor repair done in the next few weeks, and then I'm going to tackle my doors. I have the usual cowl dings in them and the PO really jacked up the skin with some sh*t mirrors from autozone. My first attempt will be to fix what I got, if that fails splice in a patch off a donor door, and if that fails reskin the door.

BTW...they're freaking heavy.

ETA: I think Alan's62 used these to repair a set of doors. IIRC he said they worked, and shortly after that I bought mine from a local guy here who I believe orders direct from triplus or LMC off a dealer account (the price I paid was dealer cost not retail)

[62 Barnfind]

I bought one also. I cut the old skin and tucked it under the line. I will weld it and smooth and fill to cover the weld. I didn't get to finish because the lower door is rusted bad inside and I want to replace also with a patch panel. I went and talked to an old body guy and he told me that this is they way he has been doing them. I hope the pics help?
http://i311.photobucket.com/albums/k...a/IMG_8506.jpg

http://i311.photobucket.com/albums/k...a/IMG_8507.jpg

[collins10672]

the reason the window frame does not come with the doorskin is so they can be a universal fit for 60-63 or 64-66 trucks(to save on tooling costs).i have not used them so i do not know about the quality i was wondering about that myself.if they are like everyone says the front fenders,doors and other parts are i would not want them.

[slorio]

62Barnfind:
I thought about the method that you are using. One concern that I had on the bottom going underneath the top on the overlap was the potential to get water in the seam. I would suggest that you take some time to make sure that you have a good seam sealer applied to the backside of that overlap. I am planning to put the bottom over the top across the middle body line of the door. Hopefully that will be less attractive for moisture to wick up into the seam, but I am going to seam seal as well just in case.
Regards,
Steve

[k1rodeoboater]

I plan on butt welding mine and sealing both sides of the weld, sanding smooth, and using a little filler if needed.

That said I have toyed with the idea of contracting it out to have it done by a shop. But it's stupid expensive
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[1Bad62Pro/Street]

Thanks guys.
This will be next on my gotta buy and fix list.

[rendus]

Good thread. I was an idiot and backed up with my driver's door open and hung it on a fence. Sprung it and buckled the skin. I was curious how far up the Classic Industries skin goes and now I know.

[mbgmike]

same skin all companies sell including us

[1Bad62Pro/Street]

Welding Panel Clamps from Eastwood - YouTube

http://www.eastwood.com/?SRCCODE=1EM...ontent=1EM1490

http://www.youtube.com/user/EastwoodCo/videos?view=0

[Eric15chevys]

Great thread. I was just wondering about this before I order my door skin.

[MARTINSR]

A few thoughts guys, first off, I loath reproduction sheetmetal, I will do ANYTHING to avoid using it. Repair panels covered with dents, replace rusted areas with patch panels, spend tons of $$ on NOS parts, I don't care what it takes using reproduction sheetmetal is the very, very last resort.

That being said, there is a time when it's availability is a blessing! The fact that we can buy it is pretty damn neat.

It would come down to a mixture of the quality of the piece and the damage on the door for me decide exactly where I would cut it, using just the bottom as a patch, or more. But without a doubt, if that reproduction skin is pretty nice and the whole bottom of the door skin has damage on the door, I would go to the top of that door! I would not cut it through the middle, I would take it right up to the top up there by the window line. That is a great place to weld where warpage and work is cut to a tiny fraction of cutting through the middle of the door.

But if there was only rust at the bottom I would seriously think about cutting that skin up and using just the bottom, I don't care if it was only 6 inchs of the bottom and I threw the rest in the scrap metal pile, wouldn't cut more of that door off than what was absolutely needed.
And think about this, if your door has dents and dings all over it, when you weld it there is a good chance you are going to have to have it covered with bondo anyway (depending on your skills) so why not just use a small piece at the bottom and have a weld that is covered with bondo along with the dents and dings on the original.

Those "butt weld clamps" have a place, but they also leave a gap that shrinks and causes warpage. ZERO gap is best, but that is a whole different discussion with a jacked up skill level. So the butt weld clamps can work wonders.

Brian

[MARTINSR]

Here is the first "Basics" I ever wrote.

"Basics of Basics" Door skin replacement.
by Brian Martin

First off, to remove the old skin, take a grinder and grind the edge door where the skin folds around onto the door shell. Grind until you see the three layers of metal. Don’t worry if you grind a little too much, if the shell gets ground a little it is no big deal. On the spot welds you can drill them or grind them, sometimes both. By grind I mean a die grinder with a cut off wheel, just set the spinning wheel on the weld moving it back and forth till you have cut though eliminating the weld.

To prepare the new skin, take a DA or similar tool and sand the OUTER edge of fold in the new skin a little. I am talking about the edge as it will be folded onto your door shell. If you LIGHTLY sand this edge the lip will fold MUCH easier when you install the skin.

If you don’t plan on bonding the skin on, I highly recommend it. It is a corrosion fighter like none other. With the door sitting on it's back (the interior side down) clean the edge where the panel will bond with an abrasive disc to bare metal. Don't use a grinder, it removes metal. Then you will put a small ribbon of panel adhesive, NOT door skin adhesive but the Panel adhesive, it has a higher strength and longer working time. Spread out the adhesive with a plastic spreader so ALL the bare metal is covered. Then apply another thin ribbon on the inside edge of shell where it folds down towards the interior.

I don't know what primer you will find on the new skin, if you can be assured it is good quality and has bonded well, leave it. If it is questionable, then sand it out and apply a good epoxy primer.

After you have a good primer (or left alone) you need to simply scuff it with a red scuff pad down in the area that will be bonding. And believe me DON'T over do it with the bonding! It WILL go around the other side of the fold without even trying and get on your dolly and hammer!

Lay the skin down on the door and position it. Clamp it down at the top where you won't mess up the outer skin. I used a rubber dolly, if you don't have one take a flat dolly and tape a rag or something on it to provide a little cush. A neat home made dolly for this can be fashioned from a 5" long piece of 2x4 hard wood and a 3M rubber squeege glued to it. Hold the dolly on the top surface right over where you are going to fold the lip, strike up on the fold with your hammer while pushing down on the dolly, strike it at an angle so the metal "wants" to hold and NOT lift the skin off the door.

THE TRICK!...... Don't fold it very much at a time, I mean VERY LITTLE, about an 1/8" MAX, maybe even 1/16". Go around the WHOLE door before folding more. Go around and around until you have it folded down almost flat, about 1/16" from touching.

Turn the door over, being particularly careful not to rest the door in a way that will bend your new skin! Now strike down with the hammer while you are still supporting with the dolly to close up the fold a bit more.

ANOTHER TIP!....DON'T smash it down!!!! Two reasons, one you will distort the outside and two you need to leave the bonding in there for it to work.

STILL ANOTHER TIP!.... Use a number of hammers that closely match the shape of the door, if you are in the rounded area at the top of the door, use a domed hammer.

After all folding is done, fine tune the edge so that there are no high or low spots. You can run a vexin file over these areas to spot highs and lows and cut a LITTLE if you need off of high spots. Then using a DA on grinder mode with a 120 disc you "block" the panel around the edge to perfection.

You can spray a weld thru primer on a couple of inches or so at the corners so you can then weld there and not burn the adhesive. But be ready to trial fit the door and twist it if need be for your weld it. You should always trial fit the door before the adhesive cures and “massage” the door to fit well then weld the corners on the back side so the door can’t twist while the adhesive cures.

If you have any fears of not being able to get the door skin on and folded in the working time of the adhesive, don’t use it! All you need is a little tack weld at each corner on the inside at the folded lip. Just go ahead and prime all the hidden areas and after the skin is on, put a seam sealer on the folded seam and spray a cavity wax or underseal around the seam from the inside.

Read the recommendations on the adhesive you are using, some want the metal bare while other want it to be primed, read the tech sheets.