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nice, how did you make the hinge?, can you show me some pics??
Thanks
Steve /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif /forums/images/graemlins/k5.gif
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The hinge or the latch that holds the door closed?
I visted Greg72 and he helped me fab these tube doors.. I used my factory hinges.. just unbolted the door and then we made some plates, drilled them and tapped them so they bolt to the hinges like a factory door. then we welded the tube to that.. So theoretically it shouldn't mess up the hinge alignment between bolting on the tube doors and regular doors... Really though, after blazerfest and twisting and flexing my truck every way the original doors didn't bolt up quite the same and the door alignment got tweeked.
The hardest part of making some first gen tube doors is going to be figuring out what you're going to do about a latch to keep the door closed.. I was thinking about using a factory latch, but it would be tough to incorperate that in a tube door and it would look kinda funny too...
Its kinda hard to explain how i made my latch, but i made a little striker plate with a hole in it that bolts onto the original striker plate. Then i made a spring loaded latch, out of 3/8" rod, a spring, and welding a few washers welded to the rod so it would be a spring loaded latch. I drilled the tube door so this 3/8" rod goes through the tube and would be pulled to open the door, then it is spring loaded so you can close the door and that rod will engage into the hole.. /forums/images/graemlins/screwy.gif The spring and washers for the latch are hidden inside the tube so it looks clean.
This worked pretty good, but it rattled and jingled a little bit, and the passanger side door opened on me once or twice driving around town. /forums/images/graemlins/ignore.gif /forums/images/graemlins/rotfl.gif To eliminate the jingle between the rod and the hole in the striker plate, i was going to make a rubber bushing in the striker plate for the rod to engage into so it won't make any noise rattling around. /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif I think a better latch system would be nice, but haven't thought of one yet. I'm currently working on some half doors instead of tube doors now. I've already hacked a big U in a door and filled it back in with 16GA sheetmetal.. working on smoothing out the corners, and practicing body work on these half doors.. i'll post some pics of those maybe this weekend. /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif
