Door disappointment

[DJs74]

Hello All,

My Bronco build started March 2013 and was finished by August 2013. I disassembled down to the frame & tub - everything else was taken a part, refurbished or replaced from the headlights to the tail lights. A lot of lost sleep and thrashing as you can imagine but the end result was worth the sacrifices.

I have recently noticed my drivers side door top frame portion seemed to have something going on. I actually noticed it while the door was open, there was a slight breeze blowing and the reflections in the glass was moving (as if the whole door was moving) but the door was stationary - I thought that was odd so I started investigating, wiggling and shaking and come to find out, the top frame had been welded to the door (hinge side) right at the intersection of the top frame / lower door and now is broken!!!!

The good news is that the frame remains intact, closes & opens fine due to the vent window assembly serving as the structural bond holding everything together (I'm assuming). Upon further examination, I see a crack forming at the rear of the frame too (striker side) at the same intersection as mentioned above.

I'm disappointed this happened mainly because the Bronco is done and painted and its driving time - not fix doors time which would've been 9 months ago. I guess this has happened because of the new weatherstrip and tight fit of the door and the need to shut it with authority until the foam takes a final set.

My question is about approach, in your opinion, should I:
* purchase a new top frame and rework the current door
* try to find a used doors
* Or, is there a repair kit for this problem that would reuse the current frame / door
* something else??

Passenger side seems OK but also looks as if it was welded too so I would probably do both since paint will need to be mixed and shot (I am a big fan of symmetry). The doors shut the same but I'm thinking now that the passenger side frame might have the extra tail material down inside which would give more structural support to the frame whereas the driver side looks like a butted up weld joint.

I see the frames pieces on the web and they appear to go down inside the door a ways and are bolted in / not welded in attachment.

Looking forward to your thoughts

thanks,

DJs74

 

[Rustytruck]

Your window frames are supposed to be welded to the door. Only the very early model years had bolt on frames. Unfortunately your going to have to ruin new paint and reweld your frames.

 

[Crawdad]

Did you happen to replace the old doors with new doors from a vendor? The ones I've seen from vendors have the top bolted to the doors.

 

[DirtDonk]

Just had a friend go through this too. Beautiful paint, but by the time the whole restoration was done, one of the window frame had already busted it's welds. It's been a semi-common occurrence since these things were built.

I would agree that instead of new doors, which you'd have to paint too anyway, just weld it and re-paint the localized area. Since the paint is brand new, it should be easier to match.

Paul

 

[DJs74]

Thanks for the info on bolting versus welding. I looked up the frames again @ JBG and it does state 66-68 frames were bolted / 69-77 frames were welded. So the frames are the same just the attachment method was different in those years.

Mine does not seem to have the extended piece down in the door unless it broke too? Just seems like the frame was butted up to the door and welded.


I haven't purchased any door / frame parts yet, just have the doors that came on the Bronco and I purchased all new seals for the vent glass, door panels, mirror and all stainless hardware but I thought the shell and frame were OK

I think the answer is to buy the top frames, take doors off and back to the body shop, repair, repaint and reinstall.

thanks Guys,

DJs74

 

[joshnjulie1]

[QUOTEI think the answer is to buy the top frames, take doors off and back to the body shop, repair, repaint and reinstall.[/QUOTE]

I think that is your best option. Try and mickey mouse it now and you will be going through this issue more than once.

 

[Sac '68 sport]

That sucks man.
You shouldn't need to buy new frames as long as it's only the weld where the frame and door meet. Just reweld and have the paint shop blend it in.

My 68 frames bolt in, but my drivers frame did crack up front where it goes into the door. I welded it up and ground it down and you can't even tell.

 

[phred]

Find someone that can tig and have them reweld it. They can keep the heat localized and not wreck the entire door. I just fixed some frames for guy, it not as bad as you might think. I MIGed the frames back on with some extra supports and he was able to have the paint blended back in.

 

[u10072]

Yea this is a hard lesson but anyone reading this and doing a door restore needs to inspect the weld for any weeping rust. If you see anything seeping from the weld then you need to get out the cutoff wheel grind the weld center and re-weld. A TIG is really the best but a MIG great as well as is the factory method.