There have been ALOT of doors going through here lately! This is a look at the restoration of the doors on the ’66 roadster being rebuilt currently in the shop – the “lead sled”…
We had to do these doors now so that we can use the LH side to help with the fitting of the new LH rear wing.
A bare E-Type door in primer weighs 13 pounds – these weighed 16 and 17 from the extra lead body solder! Take a look at the photos – these came out very nicely.
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- Here they are – a couple of real heavyweights!
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- I guess these are the optional oversize drain holes being offered in 1966…
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- This side will need a new bottom section as well.
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- A shot of the heavy rust pitting between the outer skin and shell.
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- Fully dissected and ready for repair.
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- The car came to us already blasted with soda and some coal slag it looks like. But you can only get to this area by dissecting the door.
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- Here’s a shot of the new shop from the same photo session – it’s just storage now but we’re hoping to be working in here by this Winter.
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- Completely blasted to bare white metal and being fitted for a new bottom.
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- Another angle.
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- The new bottom has been welded into place.
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- The drip trays were surprisingly sound, and only required a liberal coating of red oxide to keep them that way.
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- One shell down, one to go!
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- The LH side shell has now received a new bottom as well.
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- We always attach the new bottoms to the hinge support section as original – this ensures that the new door is rock-solid and factory fresh strength.
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- Two 4.2 roadster door shells as good as new!
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- New roadster door skins, sripped of their black shipping primer and properly etch-primed.
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- The completed lower rear corner of the LH door.
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- Upper section TIG-welded on the forward edge.
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- Inside of the completed LH door.
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- Edge is properly folded and has the proper shape.
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- Dead straight and rock-solid – and back to 13 pounds again!
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- On this side, the car’s shell seemed to want a longer upper section, so we left this untrimmed until the final fitting.
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- Inner side of the RH side.
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- Another properly folded flange and curvature.
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- This area is seen when the door is opened and we take great care to make sure that the repairs on the lower section of the shell are invisible here.
We may have actually “over-restored” these doors… When completed, they were compared to virgin 3.8 doors and these look better – the originals look “sloppier” on the edges!
