Lower door skin panels

[5spdCab]

I didn't want mine on the lower door panel since my roll bar is right there plus it sounds better up high.
I didn't want them in the kick panels either.
View attachment 144473

Good, practical reasoning.

 

[57 Handyman]

5spd, my power windows and locks were from an '84 El Camino which I bought as a parts vehicle. It was badly rusted in all of the usual major areas...roof drip rails--both sides, bottom of doors, floor pans, bed, etc. I ended up stripping whatever was salvageable (hood, fenders, tailgate, radiator support, etc.) then cut up the rest to fit in the scrap metal bin at the hobby shop. I kept the frame and am in the process of cleaning and retrofitting the frame with a full suspension kit from SC&C.

I have tested, re-taped, and wrapped the main under dash harness as well each door harness. How did you end up installing the main harness? Did you remove your whole dash? The stock harness location runs along the upper front edge of the dash and quite difficult to reach. I'm planning to just push it up so it isn't visible for now and properly install it when I redo my dash.

I won't totally install the power accessories at this point and focus on the doors. I am still contemplating how to address the body line along the bottom of the doors. Any suggestions welcomed!

 

[5spdCab]

5spd, my power windows and locks were from an '84 El Camino which I bought as a parts vehicle. It was badly rusted in all of the usual major areas...roof drip rails--both sides, bottom of doors, floor pans, bed, etc. I ended up stripping whatever was salvageable (hood, fenders, tailgate, radiator support, etc.) then cut up the rest to fit in the scrap metal bin at the hobby shop. I kept the frame and am in the process of cleaning and retrofitting the frame with a full suspension kit from SC&C.

I have tested, re-taped, and wrapped the main under dash harness as well each door harness. How did you end up installing the main harness? Did you remove your whole dash? The stock harness location runs along the upper front edge of the dash and quite difficult to reach. I'm planning to just push it up so it isn't visible for now and properly install it when I redo my dash.

I won't totally install the power accessories at this point and focus on the doors. I am still contemplating how to address the body line along the bottom of the doors. Any suggestions welcomed!

I created my own harness, while using the plug-in connectors that I got with my junkyard regulators. I did not want to remove the door at this time to install the accordion wiring tube, so I just popped out the plastic plugs and put a hole about 5/16 or3/8 inch and ran the shrink wrapped wires through them, behind along the underside of the dash to the area below the stereo. My current dash is pretty beat, so I had no problem using a 3/16 drill bit to put two holes in the bottom edge of the dash on either side of the steering column, then used small zip ties to keep the wiring in place.

 

[57 Handyman]

Update: Doug, I haven't removed the door from the vehicle because I wanted to get the gaps correct or close before starting any welding. It was a good thing I went slowly because once I had the panel fitted up, I noticed the front edge of the replacement panel wasn't following the profile of the front fender (first picture). The edge was straight rather than convex.

Although the pictures look almost the same, you'll notice that in the second picture the profile is slightly different...compare the edge adjacent to the door ding on the fender. Because I had folded over the inner edge of the panel, I needed a tool to bump out the metal ever so slightly. So, I ended up making another tool for this chore and welded a flat washer to a bolt.

Worked perfectly!!!