73-87 Chevy _ GMC Trucks > Body, Glass & Paint

Door alignment

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Chevygold:
Hi Henry, thanks for the additional info, pretty sure all the panels are original but I do have a couple of cracks in the outer skin around where the original mirrors were attached, I think it might have had a camper body on it at some stage as the bed is in really good condition so probably had large mirrors fitted so lots of strain at the mountings. These will be attended to during the resto.
Graham

Henry:
Hi Gold:
Many people who had a camper or trailering truck of 1970s and early 80s used West Coast style mirrors that were aftermarket because these were a lot cheaper than the GM OEM West Coast mirrors. The problem with these aftermarket mirrors was that they had poorly designed attachment points including one right below the vent window, and this area of the door skin is not well supported so the skins would tear here from the weight and vibration. The OEM GM West Coast mirrors  had better attachment locations, but still had one that was right below the vent window post. On the GM mirror this attachment point was not ideal but it did not carry as much mirror weight as the aftermarket ones did. I discovered this problem with my truck which had JC Whitney west coast mirrors when I bought it. I found the original GM OEM mirrors at a junk yard and restored them and plan on installing them on new doors in the near future (I have 1977 doors on my 1976 truck right now since when I restored it 15 years ago 1976 doors were not available). If you use west coast style mirrors, you may consider adding a little bit of stiffening to the inside door skin in these areas that wont interfere with the window assemblies.
Regards,
Henry

Chevygold:
My truck now has some Taiwan 'sport' mirors which work really well, the redundant holes will be filled with welded inserts which should take care of the cracks, I got some punched out 25mm diameter steel discs so will drill the skin 25mm and weld them in.
Graham

VileZambonie:

--- Quote from: Chevygold on February 25, 2022, 02:07:20 PM ---My truck now has some Taiwan 'sport' mirors which work really well, the redundant holes will be filled with welded inserts which should take care of the cracks, I got some punched out 25mm diameter steel discs so will drill the skin 25mm and weld them in.
Graham

--- End quote ---

What?

Chevygold:
The large holes in the door skin where the original heavy duty mirrors were will be enlarged to 25mm then the 25mm steel discs I have will be welded in to fill the hole, sorry my marine background crept in, an insert is where you cut out a damaged section of a ships hull and weld in a new piece of steel plate this is an insert as opposed to a patch which is welded on top of the damage as a temporary fix, OK? ;)
Graham

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