1951 CHEVY DOOR GAP PROBLEM... SOLVED!

[@bluethunder1951]

That brought back memories when I did my 51 GMC 1/2 ton 10 year ago, I had two cabs to draw parts from, one was a 52 and the others 51 when it was time to do the doors I was so frustrated by the bad fit up, I tried everything in the book with the hinges to get it right, but no luck, then after doing weeks of searching online to find the answer to my problems, I found out the doors off the 52 mid year production were different shape then earlier models, long story short I changed the doors out for the 51 model and they fit perfectly. You did a nice job 👍🏻

[@dirtydansrodncycle]

Thanks! Truth be told, they often didn't fit properly from the factory.

[@bluethunder1951]

@ true enough, I tried heating up the hinges and bending them in many ways, still couldn’t make them fit within reason.

[@DesertRatFabrication]

Hey Dan, nice work on the door gaps, your not afraid to cut and weld, yeah😀😀

[@dirtydansrodncycle]

Ya do what ya gotta do to make it work! Thanks for watching.

[@christinefernandez4551]

Great job.

[@dirtydansrodncycle]

Thank you!

[@joefromga5458]

Great job on the door gaps. I sometimes find that mixing sheet metal from different years that there are significant fit issues. I just attributed it to wear on the stamping dies.

[@dirtydansrodncycle]

From some of the feedback I've gotten, apparently, outer skins were fitted to each cab as it came down the line...which means mixing and swapping doors is a crap shoot!

[@joefromga5458]

@@dirtydansrodncycle Good info, thanks

[@barryhunt5357]

Another mountain conquered Dan, Looking good. enjoy the cold weather buddy.

[@gregorywert6830]

Thanks for all the info with the door gaps. That’s gonna help me with my 49. The gaps were similar to yours.👍🏻

[@dirtydansrodncycle]

Great! Good luck and thanks for watching!

[@joeruggles9469]

@@dirtydansrodncycle I am doing a 53 right now too and enjoy seeing your progress. I would love those hood hinge pockets from that scrap cab. Killing me seeing them going to scrap. Mine are shot.

[@dirtydansrodncycle]

@@joeruggles9469 These are pretty soft too! This thing is rougher than it looks on camera...trust me, I hate scrapping anything! Thanks for watching!

[@miketodesco6915]

Very therapeutic

[@michaelhallas6450]

Something going on with those doors and hinges, how can both doors be that much out of alignment ?

[@dirtydansrodncycle]

Well, they're good now! I'm not sure, but I can tell you this, I had 4 left doors and no 2 were the same exact size. I don't know if the skins were fitted to each cab on the assembley line or what. I had a ton of guys tell me they had similar issues! Thanks for watching!

[@eliasvillarreal2691]

What kind of bonds do you use?

[@mariopadilla2266]

Are the gages good how much u want for them ? Let me know I'm working on 52 5 window too thanks

[@dirtydansrodncycle]

no...gauges are pretty rough

[@mariopadilla2266]

@dirtydansrodncycle ok

[@clifnunnery4691]

Cut,weld,grind,repeat, she will be sold when your done, What brand beer are you enjoying over there ?

[@dirtydansrodncycle]

I drink Carling...cuz I'm cheap!...lol

[@clifnunnery4691]

@@dirtydansrodncycle ,People ask me ,what kind of beer do you drink,I always say cold beer

[@dirtydansrodncycle]

@@clifnunnery4691 lol...correct answer!

[@RBTrujillo1]

Nice square body in your back yard!! Will that be a future project???

[@dirtydansrodncycle]

I've done a ton of work to that already...not enough hours in a day!

[@jamesluttrell5960]

Hey Dan, really digging your videos, what wiring harness are you planning on for the 51?thanks

[@dirtydansrodncycle]

EZ or similar...Ii don't really need much more than 8 circuits or so...on line stuff seems to mostly 12 circuits and are reasonable prices. Thanks for watching!

[@DesertRatFabrication]

I think I know what’s going on with those doors, must be American exchange 😀😀ha ha

[@dirtydansrodncycle]

Apparently, the outer door skin was fitted to the door on each truck on the assembly line...this came from one of my viewers that worked on the line at GM back in the day!

[@DesertRatFabrication]

@@dirtydansrodncycle yes that make sense, but I did like my smart ass comment, lol

[@dirtydansrodncycle]

@@DesertRatFabrication LOL...yeah, it was pretty good!

[@DesertRatFabrication]

@@dirtydansrodncycle 👍

[@RBTrujillo1]

I am going to ask a dumb question: could you use a porta power tool to spread out the door frame? then body work lower edges of frame? I'm NOT a body man, just watching videos like yours to learn. I'm just curious.

[@dirtydansrodncycle]

I needed too much clearance and I would've had to detach from the floor...with that, my fenders wouldn't fit right. I'm all done now, looks good and I think it was the best way! Cheers!

[@timfromcanada6462]

Just curious Dan, did ya try another Chevy door, just for shit and giggles, to see if it fit different than the GMC door ? The doors should be the same but who knows.

[@dirtydansrodncycle]

I had 4 sets and chose the ones in best condition. I did measure all 4 drivers side...no 2 were exactly the same! Imagine that...thanks for watching!

[@MarksGarageChannel]

What are you doing with the gauges from the old cab? I'm looking for a decent set for my 1947 GMC restoration.

[@dirtydansrodncycle]

Haven't thought about it...these aren't in the greatest condition.

[@DesertRatFabrication]

49 Canadian, 52 American 😀😀lol

[@fueladdictiongarage7048]

👍🏻🍺