Well, first you get a small hand grinder and grind away all the
way around the door edge where the old skin has been folded over and
welded. When the old skin comes loose, be very careful as the newly
ground edges will be razor sharp. Next, you grind away on the inside
portion that has not come away w/ the big piece. Be aware that the more
you grind on the door frame, the harder it will be to replace the skin.
After you have done all your rustproofing prep and other stuff,
"offer" up the new skin and ,carefully, crimp a few spots and look at the
shut lines. If it looks good, procede. Crimp a couple and take a good
look at your work. Eventually, it will be how you want it. Check one
more time and then, and only then, weld it in place as the old one was.
Resist the temptation to weld as you go. I promise you will end up
buying another skin.
There is a swell tool for crimping door skins. It looks like big
pliers w/ no grooves. If you know someone in the body business, they
probably have one lying around you could use as they probably have gotten
good enough by now to do it w/ a body hammer and dolly.
I have found it is easier to do all of this w/ the door still
adjusted and on the car. Before you start anything, make certain the
door hinges are not junk and your shut lines look good. Anything else is
just burning daylight as you'll be back.
Larry Dickstein
bugide@juno.com
"If you're stupid, you'll have to pay for it"
On Sun, 26 Oct 1997 19:16:37 -0500 (EST) Teacher122@aol.com writes:
>In a message dated 97-10-26 11:40:28 EST, jroverca@tiac.net writes:
>
><< Depending on
> your ability, time and resources an option might be a new door skin.
>Of
> course, without reinforcement, the tear can happen again!!
> >>
>I did the quick repair, but I have never installed a door skin. What
>is the
>procedure for the skin?
>Tom Green
>1979 MGB
>
|