my 1932 datsun replica build

I'm not done with mounting the door latch, but it already works OK; i.e. I can gently push the door shut, and it latches all the way.

I drilled the bolt holes in the edge of the door and mounted the latch mechanism. I'm going to weld in a few extra bits of metal to support it better, but it works OK. I also test fit the sheet metal skin, but I need to tweak the leading edge before I can install the skin.

Wow, nice, neat work Joey.

I've been drilling and pop riveting the cowl into place so I can get it to lay flush with the underlying support tube. That's necessary so that I can add some metal to the front of the door to adjust the door to a reasonable gap.

[I built the door frame the easy way....using a single straight tube to mount the door hinges. That left a gap at the front of the door the width of the hinges. I'm going to split another tube and weld it to the front of the vertical tube that supports the hinges.]

Note the 1/8" flat rod taped to the back of the cowl to keep a decent sized gap.

Obviously, I still need to cap those ends to seal the tube and keep moisture out.

...and after some trimming to clear the hinge bolts

The bottom corner of the leading edge still needs some work, but two edges of the door skin - the top and the front - are beginning to fit well. Once I'm content with those, I'll blast/grind the door frame and paint it....I want to protect the tubes before I put the skin on permanently.

so freaking impressive.

I took the door off (by pulling the hinge pins) to weld up the ends of the tube I added yesterday, then ground the welds down so the would not interfer with th sheet metal laying flat. I also began using the grinder to get rid of the mill scale. did not wear ear plugs...now have a bad case of tinnitus

ok...put in ear plugs, finished grinding, and brushed on some Dunes Tan rustoleum...some of which got spilled on the floor of the car port :(

Today I finally started putting the door skin back on, this time for good. I spent the morning doing the easy part; i.e. riveting the top and front in place After they were riveted in so they could not move, I still had to hammer the sheet metal around the bottom tube and the back of the door

I am sort of worried about the door scraping...I should have allowed a bigger gap at the bottom to accommodate the sheet metal

[EDIT: added photos and altered text so I would sound like a human instead of a chimp selecting scrabble tiles from a hat]

Well, as expected, I'm having clearance issues; i.e. the last few inches of the door are rubbing when it is closed. I may try adding a few washers to the door side of the lower hinge to see if they can function as a shim and raise the back of the door.

On the bright side, it closes and latches, it has a skin on it, and it looks like a door. The bead lines up pretty well with the cowl and the rear quarter panel, too.

I put the body panels and exhaust back on and then rolled it outside for a picture. While it was out I swept that part of the garage floor clean, then turned the car around so I could put it back into the garage facing in. That will make it easier to build the other door since it will put the passenger’s side nearer to the welder.

I started shaping the passenger's side door frame. (i.e. I slotted some angle iron, clamped it around the curve of the wheel well, and tacked it so it would hold the curve.)

Awesome .

How true are you staying to the original? Or is it going to be a bit hotrodded? (it must be slightly tempting to want to chop the top, right? ).

Either way, excellent progress.

Not at all true to the original....the dimensions are different and the sides of the engine bay are going to be open. I'm trying to imitate as many styling cues from the original car as possible, though. (The straight bottom of the windshield, for example.)

The dimensions were dictated by the size of the engine and rear axle off the 910 donor. The front grill width was set to match the rav4 radiator I'm using, and the grill height allows clearance of the steering rack on the junkyard dakota clip. I should have used a RAM....the rack was behind the wheel, so that front end would have eliminated any radiator/steering rack clearance issues and let me make the car shorter.

The open engine bay is because a) making louvers looked like a problem, and b) it avoids issues with the upper 'A' arm which is much longer/wider in the dakota than the mustang.

Oh well, live and learn.

It's a phaeton, so no chop....I will be hanging the unmuffled exhaust out the side of the engine bay, though.

I just took measurements from the driver's door to help with hinge placement on the passenger's side. After that I cut the piece of tube to use for the vertical front of the door.

[typing this while watching the original Italian Job]

I spent most of the weekend sick in bed, but did make it out to the garage for a few minutes this afternoon to start placing the hinges for the other door.

still feel like rubbish...sucking on a cough drop while welding....modifying speedway motors hinges to fit a door that is only 1" thick (same process as documented above for other door

The cowl-side portion of each hinge is cut to fit with the extra re-welded at 90 degrees. The hinges are clamped in roughly the right spots, and the hinge axis is close to the ideal 90 degrees.

I ran out of light and quit for the day, but hope to have them drilled for mounting tomorrow

Dude, your skills and patience are amazing. Great job!

Good to see you fixed the angle for the last picture. 89.9 degrees! What were you thinking?!?

as little as a degree or two will make the door bind. Besides, I am not out of the woods yet...I still need to mount the other hinge to the cowl. After that, I need to modify and mount the door-side portions of each hinge.

drilled holes for the cowl side of the lower hinge, but ran out of light before I couldcut the chassis tube open and weld the nuts into place

the door-side is modified for both hinges on the passenger's door. the holes are drilled for the upper hinge.

The hinges are mounted, and the door frame is tacked together.