MG Sports Cars

engine swaps and other performance upgrades, plus "factory" and Costello V8s

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DC Townsend
David Townsend
Vermont
(406 posts)

Registered:
11/21/2007 12:22PM

Main British Car:
'78 B (almost done) 30-over SBF, dry sump

authors avatar
How To: Speedster Doors - Part II
Posted by: DC Townsend
Date: September 11, 2011 07:48PM

If you followed Part I - [forum.britishv8.org] - we left off with the cap completed and the door in primer. After a light sanding w/320 grit paper, I shot three coats of color on the jambs, hinges, and inside, only putting color down about 5" inside the door. I followed that with three coats of clear and let the door dry for 48 hours before I went on to the next steps. Here's a shot of the completed door with the exterior handle installed, the mirror bolted down and the blanking plug for the door lock hole in place.

finished_door.jpg

Before I make the door panel pattern, sound proofed the door using some extra material I have from the hood blanket. It only takes a few minutes and it helps give the doors a nice, satisfying "thunk" when they close. The trick to installing this stuff is to fold in half length-wise, slide it into place, then apply adhesive to either the upper or lower half and roll the material. Repeat for second half.

sound_proofing.jpg
sound_proof_installed.jpg

I also installed the door latch and the door pin while I was at it. These can really be done any time before you button up the door.

I laid out the pattern for the interior panel using some masking paper and a fine tip Sharpie. It's important to mark the perimeter accurately as well as all of the existing holes. This panel will be screwed on so you need to know where all the voids are so you don't end up with a screw that only grabs panel and no door.

door_panel_pattern.jpg


DC Townsend
David Townsend
Vermont
(406 posts)

Registered:
11/21/2007 12:22PM

Main British Car:
'78 B (almost done) 30-over SBF, dry sump

authors avatar
Re: How To: Speedster Doors - Part II
Posted by: DC Townsend
Date: September 11, 2011 08:06PM

Next step is to tape the pattern to your door material. I'm using .040 t6061 aluminum. It's strong, but easy to work with and relatively cheap - two 20" x 36" pieces cost me $36 at the local metal yard. I taped the pattern to my material, aligning the top of the pattern to the 'factory' edge of the panel and use a pair of straight aircraft snips to trim the sheet stock. It pays to go slow and cut straight so there's lees time for de-burring.

Door_pattern.jpg

After I've cut my panel, I deburr and straighten any irregularities using a collection of simple hand files - a flat file, a half-round, and a rat tail. The work mate is really an essential tool for this work as you can always keep the edge your working on close to the bench top making it very easy to work on. Here's the panel after I deburred it.

deburring.jpg

Next steps were to complete drilling the screw holes (pull handle holes too) and to put the finish coat on the completed panel. I drilled my attachment holes at 4 1/2"-4 5/8 on centers starting from the top center of the panel and working my way around. I found that this measurement let me miss all of the existing cavities and openings. Holes were drilled 3/8' in from the edge of the panel. Because I;m not going to paint or cover these panels, after carefully deburring all of my holes, I lightly scuffed the panel with a 220 grit sanding sponge, degreased it with Prepsol (you'll need to do this at least twice to get the aluminum clean), then shot it with three coats of Eastwood diamond Clear for bare metal. Stuff is hard as nails and will adhere do darn near anything.

finished_door_panel.jpg

Here's the driver's door panel installed. I used 3/8" #6 screws for this. They're big enough to provide solid grip but small enough to not look goofy. Next steps will be to modify the inside door handle, cut and install the vapor barrier, and install the panel.

door_panel_installed.jpg

Stay tuned for the grand finale which includes modifying the interior door handle and reinstalling the door.


rficalora
Rob Ficalora
Willis, TX
(2764 posts)

Registered:
10/24/2007 02:46PM

Main British Car:
'76 MGB w/CB front, Sebring rear, early metal dash Ford 302

authors avatar
Re: How To: Speedster Doors - Part II
Posted by: rficalora
Date: September 11, 2011 09:49PM

nice work David.


DC Townsend
David Townsend
Vermont
(406 posts)

Registered:
11/21/2007 12:22PM

Main British Car:
'78 B (almost done) 30-over SBF, dry sump

authors avatar
Re: How To: Speedster Doors - Part II
Posted by: DC Townsend
Date: September 12, 2011 03:33PM

Thanks Rob. I know this kind of mod is not to everyone's taste and, as a friend of mine so aptly said, it takes "retro" to a whole new place when you convert a perfectly good set of roll up windows in British sports car to a set of side curtains but I really like what it does to the lines of the car. My choice of interior panel materials seems in keeping with the whole race car theme. Then there's the weight savings aspect of no interior, not that it will likely be noticed when the dry-sump 306 is installed. It will already be a ridiculous amount of HP for a car this light but, as Carroll Shelby is reputed to have said "Too much horsepower is just about right."


DC Townsend
David Townsend
Vermont
(406 posts)

Registered:
11/21/2007 12:22PM

Main British Car:
'78 B (almost done) 30-over SBF, dry sump

authors avatar
Re: How To: Speedster Doors - Part II
Posted by: DC Townsend
Date: September 18, 2011 08:50PM

Okay, here's the grand finale to the speedster doors. First shot shows the complete panel with all of the holes drilled, sanded, and finished in clear.

door_panel_prep.jpg

Next is to cut and attach a vapor barrier. This is especially important on a speedster door because they will be open to the weather and, after going to all of the trouble to clean up and repair all of the rusted sections, you don't want to be back at it again any time soon. I use the door panel as my pattern and trim it about 1/4" under. You can attach this with rope caulk (my personal preference because you can peel it back and reseal it if need be) or weather strip adhesive or just black caulk. It's just important that you get a good seal around the perimeter.

vapor_barrier.jpg

Last, the handle needs to be modified to make up for the lack of depth from the original door panel by drilling out and flipping the brackets.

door_handle_bracket1.jpg

Then you need to remove a small amount of material so the handle can fully seat into the opening.

Door_handle_bracket_trim.jpg

Once that's done, install the handle, install the door panel using the #6 screws (or rivets), install the door pull, and reinstall the whole business on the chassis.

That's it for the "How To". Even though it took me several weeks to complete this (because of time and responsibility constraints), this is a modification that could easily be done in weekend. As a final note, I'm going to be replacing my screws with rivets on the final assembly as that is my most common fastener and I think there's some consistency in it.

Hope those following this thread have enjoyed it and hope there's someone else out there who will give this a go.

Cheers,

David


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