Firebird Door Skin - Reskin Your Door

We began by removing the interior parts from the door, including the handle, window crank, armrest, and the door panel itself. This allows access to the inside of the door where you can remove the window glass, lock, and handle.

A track assembly retains the window glass. Remove the two window stops, then unscrew the flange from the track at the bottom. The glass (with the flange still attached) can now be removed.

Pulling door-hinge bolts can be impossible with conventional box-end wrenches and ratchets. You can purchase a set of S-shaped wrenches from your local auto parts store for $10-$20. Now's a great time to rebuild or replace bad hinges. Both Goodmark and Rick's First Generation offer replacement and rebuild components.

The doorskin comes off next. Remove the flanges on the sides and bottom of the door using an electric angle grinder or an air-powered rotary sander/die grinder.

Grind with a back and forth motion until you see a separation between the skin and the door flange. Eventually some areas will start to pop up and the skin will separate from the frame.

Now remove the concealed spot-weld on the inside of the door near the latch assembly with a metal chisel or a drill. You might have to also remove the spot-welded braces at the top of the door using a flat cutoff wheel or the edge of your grinder. Cut the outermost skin side of the braces to allow the most material to work with when you attach the new skin.

With the old doorskin shed, inspect the frame for rust. A wire wheel and a good rust-adhering coating like POR-15 and some paint works well for repairs. Now remove the remaining flange strips. You can break the spot welds with a metal chisel. If you run into a stubborn weld, you can drill it out. Be careful not to distort the perimeter of the doorframe, which will make finishing the doorskin tough.

Place the new doorskin on a clean shop blanket and inspect it for damage. Most mail-order companies will not take something back once you've signed for it.

Center the skin over the doorframe and begin folding the new flange around it by using a hammer and dolly. It helps to pad the dolly or to use one made of rubber. Start in the center of each side and work toward the outside in each direction. Don't hammer the flange flat in one pass. Instead, gradually flatten the flange with three or four passes.

Temporarily reinstall the door on the car to check for a proper fit and to permanently secure the skin to the frame. Once the door is hung, align it so it closes properly and the gaps line up as they should. The doorskin won't move much, but there will be some play for adjustment. Adjust as you see fit by tapping on the edge of the skin with a block of wood and a small hammer. This slides the skin on the frame.

If you have a vent window, you will want to trial-fit its frame and adjust the frame-to-skin gap. You can use a dial caliper to measure the desired distance. Adjust the gap by either pushing out or pulling the doorframe and skin together. You can use a strap around the door to hold the gap in while you work. The two upper braces on the new skin will overlap the old braces attached to the doorframe. Once the desired gap is held in place, drill a hole and insert a sheetmetal screw in each brace. If you need to make further adjustments, you can drill the top hole bigger, then when you break through, switch to a smaller bit. This allows you to loosen the screws and reposition them. When you're ready, tighten the screws to secure the braces.

Once you're satisfied with the fit, permanently secure the new doorskin to the frame by welding the flange every 4 to 6 inches. Check the door's alignment after every weld to make sure it didn't shift. If you have problems with burning the material even though your welder is set as low as it will go, try increasing your wire-feed speed and weld in short bursts until your tack is a satisfactory size. Keep in mind that the cleaner and flatter the weld is, the less cleanup you will have to do later. Once the welding is complete, use an angle grinder to finish the welds along with a thin bead of seam sealer to keep the rain out. You may now sand and prep for paint as needed.

Reassembling the door is the reverse of disassembly except for one detail. You will need to drill a new hole for the sheetmetal screw that runs between the doorframes, through a hole in the vent window support (if needed), and into the lip of the new doorskin. Once the door has been fully assembled, check for proper alignment. In some cases, the door may sag a little more because of the hardware and glass weight. Adjust your door, and you're ready for final bodywork and paint.