More often than not, trucks of any lineage are used and abused, just like they were meant to be. And of the areas receiving the brunt of the abuse, the doors and beds undoubtedly take the most punishment. Even with pickup trucks that were spared the fate of a hardcore blue-collar life, the beds may survive, but the doors eventually succumb to the laws of gravity, requiring at the very least new hinge pins and latches. For those haulers beaten to submission, all is not lost--even the worst of the worst can be brought back to life.
If you've watched the progression of my '75 Cheyenne, you may have noticed that it was nowhere near pristine from the get-go. As a matter of fact, I was told on numerous occasions that I'd be better off starting with a nicer pickup. Even I agreed, but for some reason, I had a soft spot in my heart for the beat-up old Chevy, and I just didn't feel she was ready to be put to pasture quite yet. From the beginning, everything that the "nice" lady who sold the truck to me said was BS--the good-running engine had a flat cam and a couple spun bearings; the rebuilt tranny let Second gear go in a matter of weeks; the solid chassis turned out to be buckled--so my degreed pessimism came in handy. With all these obstacles, do you think a set of heavily sagging doors that refused to cooperate would deter me? I think not. In all actuality, it turned out to be easier to address than initially anticipated.
After consulting a couple of body repair experts, it was clear the best way to overcome the issues at hand was to replace everything--the average hinge replacement would have been a waste of time. The combination of constant abuse and neglect not only wore the hinges beyond functionality, it had literally began to rip the sheetmetal from the doors, not to mention the doorjambs where the strikers mount. After grabbing a set of (four) hinges from the local GM dealership, I headed over to Classic Industries in Huntington Beach, California, to grab a pair of reproduction doors. While I had the option of fully skinning the stock doors, it wasn't something I wanted to dive into, so the choice to go with complete doors was obvious--more importantly, the cost of the entire door was barely more than the skins!
First order of business was to have the new Classic doors jambed, which was done at the same time the front sheetmetal was at Caliber Collision in Costa Mesa, California. The front group was hung right away; the doors would wait until the truck was ready for its major bodywork at Jimenez Brothers Customs in Riverside later down the road, as nobody wanted to waste their time hanging and aligning if it all had to be done over again in the near future.
The day finally came when the Cheyenne was "admitted" for its body abuse rehabilitation. Among the long list of chores that JBC faced, the installation and subsequent hanging/aligning of the new doors was right there at the top. Fortunately, it was checked off sooner than later. At first, nothing jived, but once the wasted cab mounts were replaced, things pretty much started to fall into place (including the front clip, which gave us fits way back when!). Areas that still offered resistance were dealt with accordingly (in other words, "shimmed").
If your truck is suffering from severe door sag caused by rust or damage, let the following be proof that not everything is beyond repair.
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 Exterior door damage varies...  Exterior door damage varies depending on the type of past use. In this case, the '75 Cheyenne's use was more like abuse, as both doors had definitely seen better days. The passenger side took the most punishment, specifically on the front leading edge, which became "tight" with the fender after a little incident. |
 Even good old Mother Nature...  Even good old Mother Nature had her way with the lower rear corners of each door--which was in no way helped with a slab of Bondo cover-up along the way! The damage was further compounded by very poor fitment and latch alignment. |
 Curing the physical door issues...  Curing the physical door issues was simple: replace the whole thing rather than attempt to repair. Obtaining Classic Industries' complete door shells ('73-76) was a start, followed by having them jambed with PPG's Deltron California Gold Metallic. (You'll see more on the paint products in a later issue.) |
 The door damage went way beyond...  The door damage went way beyond the exterior shell, as shown here by a previously repaired tear at the upper hinge mount area. The repair worked, for a short while, until the tear permeated once again and kept on spreading--no new set of hinge pins was going to cure this! |
 And speaking of tears, because...  And speaking of tears, because of the hinge-oriented damage, the door had to be slammed (repeatedly) in order to sufficiently latch, which caused a nice tear in the jamb. This obviously would have to be welded up in order to make even the new doors close properly. |
 OK, enough with the damage...  OK, enough with the damage reports. Before removing the old doors, they need to be gutted. You won't need a manual to tackle this, but you will want to carefully bag all the little parts like clips, linkage rod retainers, etc., if you're going to reuse on the new doors. |
 As for the larger items, such...  As for the larger items, such as the window regulators and door latches, inspect thoroughly for any broken parts, clean, and relubricate accordingly. Since the new doors will be receiving power windows, the manual regulators were set aside. |
 Removal of the actual doors...  Removal of the actual doors themselves is very straightforward, though it's highly recommended having some help before the last bolt is wrenched loose. |
 With the door off the truck...  With the door off the truck for good, we could finally see the actual damaged caused from the hinges. It was only a matter of time before a large speed bump would have just dislodged the door entirely, as the sheetmetal around the mounting points was wasted. |
 As for the hinges themselves,...  As for the hinges themselves, well, it was obvious they had been severely neglected, evident by the split bushings. |
 They'd also been overextended...  They'd also been overextended more times than anyone cared to imagine. |
 Like the old doors, the old...  Like the old doors, the old hinges were trashed and replaced with all new equipment. These gems came straight from the local Chevy dealer, but can be obtained from Classic Industries in either repro or factory replacement options. |
 While the doors come on and...  While the doors come on and off fairly easily, it takes a bit more time and patience working with the hinges, as access to the hardware is tricky. |
 On the passenger side, you'll...  On the passenger side, you'll need to remove the glovebox, and it's a good idea to pull the dash, as well. |