So with most of the body work on the car sort-of finished, I started thinking about the doors.
Didn't take pics because there wasn't much to see, but I dismantled and de-skinned both doors. Then I could see what kind of rust situation I was dealing with. Both door frames needed similar treatment, so here is the worst one...
Bottom edge: FRIED!
Removal to good metal. Kept the corners on for now to keep things simple. One step at a time.
Made up a little repair.
Tacked repair into panel.
Fully welded up.
Had to drill out the hinge bolts as they were rusted solid.
Hmmmm... questionable integrity of metal. Decided to make an exploratory incision.
Oh dear. Decided the only thing to do was to whip the whole thing off.
Yuk.
Made up a suitable repair for the hinge panel...
...and the lip to the door skin.
Welded in.
Other side...
And repeated the process on the lip at the slam end.
Finally, when both frames had been completely rust repaired, I applied rust protection, primed and top-coated the insides. (Shown here in primer.)
Meanwhile, I had ordered up a pair of new heritage door skins.
The insides were roughed up a bit, primed and top-coated. I thought it was best to get some top coat on the insides of the doors at this stage because when the skins go on it will be difficult to get paint into them.
I had considered the idea of purchasing a set of Retrosport billet door hinges because the are trés sexy, and the old hinges from my car look like a dog's breakfast:
However, in the interest of saving cash, and on closer inspection I decided they could be rescued. I stripped the paint and put them in vinegar for a week, then drilled out the broken bolts and welded in new ones. The restored hinges should hopefully be quite serviceable, and I will have saved over £100 :)
