Ever wonder how to put a door in a T-Bucket fiberglass body? You’re not alone.
I just had an interesting email from a fellow National T-Bucket Alliance member I chatted with at this year’s T-Bucket Nationals in Springfield, IL. He said,
[pullquote align=”normal”]”I met with a bunch of ‘over 60’ t-bucket owners over the weekend and the subject of doors came up. I think that you could sell a bunch of plans & video of ‘How to put a door, in a T-Bucket’. Just a thought as this group ages!” [/pullquote]
Well, we’re glad to oblige and thanks to Bob Hamilton we’ll give you this nice two-part series for free that’ll show you how to put a door in a T-Bucket.
Surprisingly, this is a rather meaty subject that we can only highlight in print. Plus, it’ll take two installments. If you’re serious about having an opening door in your T-Bucket, then we recommend you also grab a copy of Bob’s very informative T-Bucket and Model-A Hot Rod Mod’s DVD available at our sister site, StreetRodPlans.com. He goes into much more detail in the video and you’ll really learn the ins and outs (pun intended) of how to put a door in a T-Bucket.
Follow along as Bob shows you how to put a door in a T-Bucket fiberglass body. And at the end of this installment we’ll outline how much more detail is covered in the DVD if you want to ensure your opening doors will be trouble-free.
How to Put a Door in a T-Bucket, Part 1
“Not being one to leave things alone, I decided to undertake the ultimate challenge to put an opening door in my fiberglass body ’27 T roadster. This is something that I had always wanted to undertake but never had the time to spend working out the details. One of the main things to understand when undertaking something of this magnitude is advance planning. If I don’t think this through, I might wind up with one major mistake that could cost more time and money than I want to invest.”
“Now I know that you can buy a ’23 or ’27 T roadster fiberglass body that has opening doors either already hinged and installed or raw and uninstalled. But I am also pretty cheap. If I can save several hundred dollars and still get the same results for a small investment, then I am all about that. Plus, l am always up for a challenge. With that said, let’s get started. I might add that [thrive_highlight highlight=’yellow’ text=’dark’]these same procedures can also be used on 1915-1923 T-Buckets or other fiberglass bodies.“[/thrive_highlight]
“There are a couple of things that need to be known about this particular body that I’m working on.
- One, it actually was rescued from a dumpster years ago and then sat in or outside a shop for several more years.
- Two, it was pretty cut up because it was used or slated to be used for a drag car.
With this in mind, and after much thought, I decided to take some precautions BEFORE I made some major mistakes.”
“Since I didn’t know what kind of stress this body had been subjected to and knowing that when one removes a section of fiberglass from this type of body (one piece construction), it can and often does go crazy and becomes very distorted. I, therefore, decided to lock down the area to be removed (the T Bucket door openings) by supporting them with 1 x 2 pine wood strips bonded to the body with fiberglass bondo (NOTE: fiberglass bondo is the shorthand term Bob uses for fiberglass reinforced body filler) applied to the area just inside the reveal lines where the door would be cut open. Four pieces were used on each door. The area was roughed up, and 1/2 inch holes drilled in the wood to help hold the wood to the bondo/door. Coat the back of the wood pieces with bondo, slide them into position, and then run a finger or a small radiused bondo spreader along the inside and outside to form a small radius and increase the strength of the bond.”
“After the bondo is set, I placed 2 inch masking tape on the outside of the body next to the door reveal lines and marked where I was going to cut the opening with a magic marker. I left 5/8ths of an inch from the outside of the reveal for the cut line. Then I took my disc cutter with a 1/16th inch wide disc and made a cut on the vertical and horizontal line at the bottom of the door. This is so I can start the cut with my jig saw. (I could have used a sawzall or a disc cutter just as easily). The small radius at the bottom of the door on the corners is marked out with a 1 inch inside diameter flat washer (using the outside diameter for the actual arc) and the cut starts from one of the two slots just made and the round cut is made, 1/2 from one direction and 1/2 from the other.”
“This view shows the door after the cuts were made. I should mention that I cut the bottom of the door first, AFTER the corners were cut, and then cut from the bottom to the top, but not all the way up and across the lip. I did this on both sides. By doing it this way, the top of the door is not flopping around while the other side is being cut. Remember that cutting with a jigsaw creates a lot of vibration, and I didn’t want to take a chance that the loose door would vibrate enough that it would crack the side I was working on. That would just create more problems.”
“This picture shows the cut out door with the wood installed. When I cut the doors out, the door only moved or distorted about 1/16th of an inch. Not bad when you consider how much it might have distorted had I not taken the precautions to keep the door from tweaking.”
“In this picture, I am laying up fiberglass that will be used in building the door jams and tying pieces together. This will all become clear as the story unfolds. Flat pieces are done on the table covered with wax paper so that they are easily removed. The angle pieces (90 degrees) that will be used to form the jams, are made using 2 x 2 inch angle iron, covered with 2 inch masking tape, covered with mold release wax or auto paste wax. On the angled pieces, I lay up three layers of 1 oz. mat. I could go thicker if I wanted, but the way this will come together, I feel it will be strong enough the way it is.”
“This shows my shop foreman DJ and his brother Tivon. DJ is 14 and Tivon is 9. Notice that they are wearing protective clothing, safety glasses, welding respirators, and disposable gloves.”
“I can’t over emphasize that when working with fiberglass and other products that are toxic, safety precautions need to be strictly adhered to. When working with fiberglass, work the resin into the mat by tapping the brush up and down. Do not brush it on like paint or the fibers will move around and cause a big mess. Don’t get too much resin on the mat. It should be translucent and not soggy. If it is soggy to the point that it can run, then when it sets up it will chip off and be brittle or form a weak spot. If you get fiberglass resin on your skin, take a rag with a small amount of lacquer thinner and wipe it over the resin until it is gone, then wash the area with soap and water and finally apply some good hand lotion. Lacquer thinner will take the oil out of the skin and can cause a skin burn or irritation. Protect yourself.”
This initial installment on how to put a door in a T-Bucket just scratches the surface compared to the detail that Bob shares in the T-Bucket and Model-A Hot Rod Mod’s DVD. For example, here’s all the detail that DVD covers just about how to put a door in a T-Bucket:
- Why it’s important to have a plan before cutting doors out
- How “body stress” can be a problem when cutting the door out and how to avoid it
- Two ways to reinforce door and frame before cutting
- How to install “bear jaw” latches
- [thrive_highlight highlight=’default’ text=’light’]How to use $5 hardware store hinges, rather than paying $50-$120 for special street rod hinges[/thrive_highlight]
- How to build reinforced door jambs that will look great and ensure smooth door operation
- Which side door you should always start with first
- How to lay out door outline before cutting and why pre-cuts will help
- Where your final cuts should be to avoid problems
- Which edge of the door is best to do your alignment from
- How to build up sheets and strips of fiberglass matte and resin to build your own door jambs for a finished look and durability
- How to plan ahead for easy upholstery panel mounting
- How to mount fiberglass strips around 90 degree curves
- Where to center your hinges in the door
- Where and how to mount the door latch
- How to modify a striker bolt to lengthen it and give longer life, smooth operation
- How to easily square a door edge that wasn’t cut perfectly straight
- How to build door upholstery panel mounting structure
- Why you should start saving your popsicle sticks
- How to reinforce the door for hinge mounting
- How to ensure precise top and bottom hinge alignment for smooth, dependable opening and closing
- How to tighten door gaps for that real “pro” look
- How to “bed” the hinges in fiberglass
- How to tighten or loosen hinge tension
- How to build door sills
- Optional ways of further strengthening door jambs, while also providing upholstery panel mounting
- How to most efficiently and effectively prime the interior door fiberglass work
You’ll be confident doing it yourself when you follow the methodical and practical information he shares about how to put a door in a T-Bucket in the comprehensive T-Bucket and Model-A Hot Rod Mod’s DVD. It’s one of the four volumes in the StreetRod 101 DVD Library that we’re proud to make available through our sister website, StreetRodPlans.com.
And don’t forget to check out Part 2 of the details on how to install an opening door in a T-Bucket fiberglass body.
- How to Put a Door in a T-Bucket, T-Bucket Doors that Open, Part 3 - September 4, 2018
- How to Put a Door in a T-Bucket, T-Bucket Doors that Open, Part 2 - August 31, 2018
- How to Put a Door in a T-Bucket, T-Bucket Doors that Open, Part 1 - August 13, 2018
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I have read and reread as many tips and hints at putting a door in a t bucket but they aren’t dealing with a body that already has the interior “molded” in so I would have to cut through the outer skin and the interior, both at once? I don’t know….
That’s a tough one Lynn, because a fiberglass seat insert was never designed to go with an opening door — it’s just an easy way to complete a T-Bucket interior. Yes, if you were to tackle it you would need to cut through two separate layers of fiberglass which will be almost guaranteed to be separated by an air gap — because the seat insert isn’t designed to fit flush to the side of the T-Bucket body. So, I am not recommending anyone attempt that because it would be incredibly difficult to reinforce the door and door jamb with wood inserted between two pieces of fiberglass. Sorry there isn’t a better answer. As Bob Hamilton noted, “That would be like walking up to the drywall in your house with a Sawzall, cutting a 36 by 80 inch hole in it and screwing some hinges into the drywall. It just won’t work.”
If you had used wider wood and placed it so it straddled where you wanted to cut your door you would have re enforced not only the door skin but the body side as well also creating a matching door & door opening at the same time . I have seen this done by using 2X6 lumber sanded to match the body curve before bondoing it in place over the door/door opening line in the body .
Thanks Leon! That’s a cool tip.
John
One of the best tech articles to date. This really shows a novice the “how to approach” in such a step by step way to make a door! It is explained in such a way to give a nervous novice confidence before even starting. I’m an old, and I mean “old” t bucket guy and even found this article way too kool for the novice. I have glass molds for doors/frames for either side but then again I am not a novice.
I really love this “T BUCKET PLANS” as even though I’ve been into “Ts” for 53 years I find even just reading the articles keeps the memory fresh and the blood pumping. I still have 4 T buckets of sorts, an old A/A 25 T from 1965 that has a front drive blower(before POTVIN) a ’25 T with flip top, another T drag car I’m just building and a metal ’27 on a ’31 A chassis w/flathead V8 w/4 deuces I’m hoping to complete before the grim reaper comes. I’m even calling it “The grim Reaper” ha Matter of fact I even have a mold made up for a ’27 open touring 4 door for families and/or beer keg and dog, a C cab P/U that is expandable to make a C cab panel(depot hack) Yes years of doing this and still lovin it. Thanks Bob, keep the ‘T’ rollin
Keep up the great work, always look forward to seeing new articles
Thank you very much, Ron. That’s quite an endorsement from someone with such a strong T-Bucket hot rod background. I will be sure that Bob Hamilton sees your nice comment. You have some cool T’s in your collection as well as some awesome ingredients for more T memories. Hope you keep going strong and we will, too.
All the best,
John