Door skin and repair, part 3

Continuing the third installation in the saga of complete door restoration, I bring my door ever so closer to completion--or ready for primer.

To pick up where I left off last time...I painted the door. The jams, or areas otherwise prone to the elements and rust were treated with several coats of Eastwood Rust Encapsulator, which will be primed over with epoxy primer when the time comes. The interior door panel was painted with black semi-gloss lacquer. The door panel metal is stamped to resemble vinyl. Ford used semi gloss lacquer paint here as it does not fill in the grain. Before painting I had applied a light coat of etching primer to etch the bare metal.

Next came the door handle install. I already installed the lock which is a very simple procedure. The pre-drilled holes in the door skin weren't in proper alignment for the door handle bolts, so I had to hog out the holes. Since the holes were now enlarged, I had to weld shut the part of the hole no longer required so the holes were smaller than the nuts attaching the handle to the door.


The welds look big and ugly, but once they're ground down the new holes are effective.


The bare metal is covered with etching primer and the new door handle was attached to the door. These door handles are Scott Drake 'show quality' handles. They have quality chrome and are made in the USA. They are a nice unit and resemble the originals exactly.

Next the window is installed. Window installation is a tricky procedure--the first time it's done. After you've done it once and figured it out, a window can be installed easily in 15 minutes.


Next, the beltline felt and seal is installed. I used a set of Repops brand that I got from CJ Pony. I also recommend this piece. To install the beltline felt, the bottom window stop rubber bumper is removed, allowing the window to be cranked all the way to the bottom of the door, below the door line at the top of the door. This gives you room to install the beltline felts and rubber seal. The felt strip goes on the interior side, while the rubber seal goes on the exterior side. Installation is very simple as the seals merely snap into place.


I now have a nearly complete door. The only thing left is vent window installation. This will not take place until I have replaced the necessary seals on the window.