It's likely that the doors on your hot rod hauler have seen better days. Especially the driver's door, as that's the one that usually receives the brunt of abuse for likely reasons. If anyone's seen the video flying around the Internet of the guys in the Middle East "sandal surfing," then it should come as no surprise that those doors on your pickup are a bit worse for wear. That said, why the majority of doors on our classic haulers have seen such abuse is a topic better left for another discussion. A better explanation would be simply that of time and use. While the passenger car variant was replaced as time, wear, and styling deemed necessary, our loyal haulers were nary put out to pasture until each and every aspect of their useful lives were put to rest. But, as long as their Stovebolt, Flathead, and later V-8 engines still coughed up with gusto each morning, so did the rest of the truck, regardless the shape of their cabs, beds, or sheetmetal.
Anyone who's restored a classic truck has come across this "modification out of necessitation." Growing up in California's Central Valley, I've come across my fair share of trucks that have been "farm modified." And given the choice, it makes sense that many individuals chose to modify rather than upgrade their given haulers. The idea of restoring their farm equipment never passed through many Farmer John minds, and rightly so. At the time, it served its sole purpose, and if it didn't serve that purpose, it was modified or put by the wayside.
This attitude, while it may frustrate us today, must be remembered and taken into consideration when it comes to restoring our old trucks. That was something I needed to remind myself of when it came time to go through the doors on our project F-1. While the driver's door hung nicely, it was only due to a tacked door pin, something that would have to be replaced if I ever wanted the door to open and close like new. The passenger door, on the other hand, had a bit of play in the hinge pins. What this meant was that no matter how hard I tried, the doors wouldn't shut right until those things were fixed. Add to that a half-century of crud built up on the door latch assembly and it was obvious that a complete overhaul was due.
The first step was to remove the doors from the cab and rebuild the latch mechanisms. In doing so, a number of bolts on the hinges were sheared. This caused a problem in that the hinges were permanently attached to the cab. By drilling out the damaged hardware and using an easy-out, the permanent hinges were saved and we were off and running. Bolting the doors back up, we installed new hinge pins and the restoration of our doors was off to a good start.
 When we removed the doors...  When we removed the doors originally, a few of the bolts sheared in the stock hinges. By drilling out the center of the stuck hardware and using an easy-out, we were able to get the broken hardware free. Once out,... |  ...we chased the threads in...  ...we chased the threads in the hinges with the corresponding tap. |  With the hinges repaired,...  With the hinges repaired, we were able to bolt up the doors with new hardware from Totally Stainless. The next step was to replace the worn hinge pins with new ones from Sacramento Vintage Ford. The heads of the old pins were ground down and the pins driven out using a hammer and drift. |
 Luckily, our hinges don't...  Luckily, our hinges don't need to be reamed and the new hinge pins fit perfectly with no slop. |  Here's a shot of the original...  Here's a shot of the original female dovetail that helps align the door and the striker plate. They're a little worse for wear, so we'll replace them. |  The dovetail rubbers, which...  The dovetail rubbers, which align the door via the male dovetail, are held in by a spring and are easily removed by pushing in and up with a screwdriver. |