Door replacement questions.

[Jason]

I'm starting the process of replacing my driver's side door. The "new" door is bare, just the door itself, so all the other parts need to be swapped over. I'm generally familiar with working inside of and around the door, but there are a few things that will be new to me that I have questions on.

What's the best way to remove the fixed glass from the door?

What's the best way to remove the horizonal trim that runs along the outside middle of the door?

Does anyone have any tips or tricks for doing a 1 person door removal? Or will separating the door from the car absolutely require 2 (or 3?) people?

[andyo]

One man removal - A hoist or some way to 'hang' the door from above to support the weight of it and also keep it from falling when you removed the bolts. don't think i've seen it done, but that would be one way. I don't think supporting it from underneath would be safely doable.

Glass removal - piano wire, and when that doesn't work, an oscillating multi-tool with a good bit of cushion/barrier to protect the glass will make quick work of it.

I haven't tried to remove a rub strip yet. without ruining it anyway.

[dmcnc]

Light heat gun on the rubstrip heats up the double sided tape enough to where you can remove without doing too much damage.

[Rich]

What's the best way to remove the fixed glass from the door?

What's the best way to remove the horizonal trim that runs along the outside middle of the door?

GLASS OFF
Cut the sealant holding the glass to the door with one of these. Probably done most easily from the outside which allows you to guide the blade so as not to scratch the glass. Be sure to cut deeply, all the way through the sealant bead on the first pass or you might have to come at it from the other side, too. You may need to use it more than once. Use same tool to cut the remaining beads of old sealant from the glass, again without scratching any glass in the vision area, before sealing it on the new door. After that you need to remove all the sealant down to bare glass. If the new door has glass sealant on it then it needs to be wire-wheeled off for good sealant adhesion.

TRIM/RUB STRIPS
The rub strip removal is easy. 2 strips on either side of door handle. Before removal take photos or measurements of their positions fore-aft. Then just get under one end of a strip with a thin blade or plastic trim removal tool, then pry it off, working your way from one end to the other. As noted above, a heat gun can help. After 40 years some strips just pop off. Don't bend the strip too sharply. Strips are held in place with double-sided high strength 3M Exterior Attachment Tape. Getting the old tape off the underside of the strips is a real chore. Be careful not to nick or hack off any edges along the inner flat side of the strip, otherwise you'll be looking at them after the strips are on the new door.

You may want to delay putting the strips on the new door until you finish aligning it to the rest of the body, including any latch/striker adjustments when closed. The strips need to line up with the door handle, of course, and also should not ride too high or low relative to the fender and quarter panel rub strips. An additional trick is to temporarily mount/tape a wooden yardstick or equivalent to the door, using it as a horizontal lower alignment fence against which to perch the strips as they are applied. It minimizes the chance of a crooked, wavy strip. Having an assistant hold up the loose end of the long trip as you work your way along helps. Do a practice run with the release liner still on the strip tape first. You just get one shot with the 3M tape.

[painterdave72]

Having put 2 nos doors on my car.. i can tell you that you should not try to take it off or put it on by yourself...unless you want to damage something... also building the internals of the door takes some time so just take your time..lol.. any other questions feel free to pm me...Dave..

[BLWNAWY]

Does anyone have any tips or tricks for doing a 1 person door removal? Or will separating the door from the car absolutely require 2 (or 3?) people?

One person removal, and torsion bar adjustment, can be done but is not advisable. The problem is, if something goes wrong, like you drop a torsion bar retainer bolt, you're screwed. Ask me how I know that.

On my last car I removed both doors by myself using an engine hoist from the rear, with an extended boom. (I had a restored classic car parked 3 feet away from it so removal from the side was not an option.) Remove the plastic cover over the ends of the torsion bars. Remove the T-top panel for access to the door wiring plugs, under a cover. Unplug the wiring connectors. Prop the door open, remove the torsion bar, rig up a sling using nylon straps. Remove the inner hinge bolts on the door first and loosen the outer ones, letting the door swivel on the outer bolts. Lift the door slightly and remove the wiring from the T-top roof box. Remove the outer hinge bolts, lift the door some more and roll the hoist away from the car.

I got a new large window and hauled the door to a glass shop to let a pro replace it - well worth the cost. Also, while everything is apart carefully examine your roof box for separation from the underbody, which is very common. When re-installing the door, roll the hoist into position and slowly lower the door until you can raise the hinge arm up enough to attach the outer bolts. Reconnect the wiring. Then lower the door until the inner bolts line up. It really isn't that difficult. But if you drop the door or screw something up, don't blame me.

Darryl T, still lurking

[dmcman73]

I was able to remove the torsion bar myself. Since you're removing the door, the sunsahde and the T panel should be off. Just open the door and pop the strut for the door off it's pivot point, this will allow you to open the door further past 90 degrees (hence why the T panel needs to be off). The door will be heavy so make sure you have something long enough to keep it open. Once the door is swung open (without the gas strut attached to the door) as far as you can open it, the torsion bar will be unloaded of tension and you should be able to safely remove it with no issues. Also, you won't need that jig and the long bars for the ratchet.

Even though I was able to do it alone, I would still advise to have someone else there just as a standby helper. If the door begins to move, you drop a bolt, etc, you'll want someone to grab those items for you since your hands will be full.

For removing/installing the door, I would advise to have three people. Two people on either side of the door to hold it to remove/install and one removing/installing the bolts. The door is heavy and can easily be damaged and having two people holding the door in place reduces the chance of the door being dropped and allows for easier alignment as someone is installing the bolts.

[Jpalatinus]

I just did my roof box and can attest that using a hoist is the best way to take off a door single handed. I bought a 600lb support host from harbor freight for about 200$. placed a rope through the toll booth window and around the door and supported with a hoist hook removed torsion bars and hinges and raised the door a few inches and rolled the car out from underneath the door and lowered the door onto a moving blanket. I did both doors in less than an hour. I just replaced the doors and I do have some caveats about reinstalling the doors that I would caution doing by yourself. I ended up bending the roof section of my passenger door during reinstallation because the ginges needed more shims. Realistically if you are not changing the hinges or shims though you should not run into this problem. If I were reinstalling the door again I would probably prefer to have at least 1 other person. Happy to share pictures of the hoist setup if interested.

Joe p
6808
17167
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[David T]

The door, all by itself, even with all of the parts removed, is heavy. Just try opening the door without the strut or the torsion bar. Make note of all of the shims so you can put them back. A long time ago a group of us helped Rob Grady to move a bunch of Deloreans a guy had in Connecticut. He disassembled them by himself, including the doors. He did not even undo the torsion bars. Every door was damaged. Best advice is to use an engine lift and have the door tied up and hanging from it. Even with help, it is awkward to handle the door because it is so heavy and above your shoulders. The other tip is to make up a short piece of wire rope (about 6") with a loop on one end and an "S" hook on the other. You sit on the door sill and pull the door down and use the wire to hold the door closed so that it is comfortable to work on the insides of the door. The loop goes over the anchor pin on the door jamb and the "S" hook goes into the door guide. Also be VERY careful with all of the sharp edges inside the door.

[Jpalatinus]

David T has a lot more experience than me on this, but my engine hoist wouldnt reach high enough to lift an open door. The doors are heavy but not engine heavy. I did have the fortune of having an extra fortified garage with a floor on top that i mounted the electric hoist to. It allows for single handed precision movement of the door and can hyperextend the door for easy single person torsion bar, hinge and door removal.
Joe p.

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