Parts Wanted Wtb rust free OEM doors and fenders for 73 vert

[Animal Lawyer]

Finally getting to the end of rust/corrosion repai, removal and restoration. Does anyone have decent (read rust, corrosion, major dent free) doors or front ‘73 fenders they are willing to sell at a reasonable price? I am in Huntington, NY and will need to arrange to either pick them up or have them shipped, so Pacific Northwest is probably not going to work.

 

[Greg]

I am surprised they need changing. When I sold your car to you, I thought they were pretty nice especially for an east coast car. If I were doing it, I would do my best to save the parts as some of us prefer an original panel car over a Frankenstein car even if some of those panels have been repaired over a put together car. Especially one with your car's pedigree. We all are temporary owners if things work out as they should. I find it better to store parts on the car than off and possibly get lost. Off the car will at least keep those parts in better shape if saved. We all have our own idea of what we like in a car and what is right. I'm on the extreme preservation end at all costs over a perfect looking shiny car. The thing I liked most about your car when I bought it was it was mostly untouched and mostly original with one respray. Of course, it did need some touching for preservation etc. at the very least. Original panels cars get harder to find every decade. Even if every panel isn't original, I find it best to have as many as possible. Glad to see the car is loved.

 

[Animal Lawyer]

The doors have a lot of rot on the bottoms, and the fenders are rotted through at the bottoms behind the wheels, unfortunately nobody seems to make patch panels for these anymore. We were able to repair the rot on the rear quarters and inner rears, needed to replace the trunk floor and repair the torque boxes. I agree and will have my shop relook at the panels, but they were suggesting that the cost to repair correctly would end up being as much as replacing, that was why I was looking for oem replacements,

I do love the car and once all the corrosion and rust are removed, and the car is resprayed (same color, but will probably strip most of the old paint off first) it will be very hot. Running a '71 engine 400 hp, cc heads, 5 speed, numbers matching engine & tranny are pickled and will soon refresh both. Slowly but surely I am restoring it as a driver and loving driving it. Thanks again

Rich

 

[Greg]

I responded yesterday and don't see it here. Everyone has their own idea what is best. I would pay more to repair over replacing and not have to store original parts which is a cost of space at the least and a reminder to your wife of spending money on this car. Maybe you can find bad parts that are good where you need them and maybe if far away, they can cut and ship parts. Yes, a tall order. As far as paint I would stick to the factory formula as clearcoat looks too shiny and if it starts peeling it looks horrible and reminds the purists of your mistake. I've made that mistake and sold the car before it peeled. My work truck that I bought wrecked, and I rebuilt it when it was new now has the repaired area with the clear coat peeling, but the factory areas still decent after 22 years. Of course, if I paint it, it will be its factory two stage formula.

 

[Fabrice]

I did restore/rebuild my 71 doors last year. It was a fairly tedious process involving significant metal work (for an amateur like me), but the original ones have both front and back and skin guides made of strong metal, something that you will not find in the repop. Which was next to their idiotic pricing the reason why I took the challenge. Please if you find/buy alternatives, do not throw the old ones away.



Depressing it was.



yet, after few weekends, I ended up new doors. Actually even better as I've used high quality zinc coated metal for the skins and bottoms.

@Greg I posted this, as you said " I would pay more to repair ". You will pay more if you let it done that's a certainty because it takes time.
but it is not that difficult. It is mainly tedious. Both my doors costed me in the end exactly 120 euros (about the same in dollars) . 100 for the metal sheet and 20 to let a local company brake the metal on their massive 3 meter hydraulic metal braker because I did not have a way to reproduce the fold on the lower side at the right angle. The bottoms are fairly easy to reproduce on a semi pro braker. Time wise, being an amateur, not having access to special tooling other than my hammer, grinder and welding machine, I took me several weekends, but surprisingly addressing each tasks one at a time, I did not encounter impossible things that would have pushed me to cut corners or throw the towel. Anybody can do it really. A pro with equipment could do the same much faster, but you can count on a several days of work per door. It also of course depends on the repairs required. Mine were in a state beyond patch.

 

[Greg]

I did restore/rebuild my 71 doors last year. It was a fairly tedious process involving significant metal work (for an amateur like me), but the original ones have both front and back and skin guides made of strong metal, something that you will not find in the repop. Which was next to their idiotic pricing the reason why I took the challenge. Please if you find/buy alternatives, do not throw the old ones away.

View attachment 82627

Depressing it was.

View attachment 82626

yet, after few weekends, I ended up new doors. Actually even better as I've used high quality zinc coated metal for the skins and bottoms.

@Greg I posted this, as you said " I would pay more to repair ". You will pay more if you let it done that's a certainty because it takes time.
but it is not that difficult. It is mainly tedious. Both my doors costed me in the end exactly 120 euros (about the same in dollars) . 100 for the metal sheet and 20 to let a local company brake the metal on their massive 3 meter hydraulic metal braker because I did not have a way to reproduce the fold on the lower side at the right angle. The bottoms are fairly easy to reproduce on a semi pro braker. Time wise, being an amateur, not having access to special tooling other than my hammer, grinder and welding machine, I took me several weekends, but surprisingly addressing each tasks one at a time, I did not encounter impossible things that would have pushed me to cut corners or throw the towel. Anybody can do it really. A pro with equipment could do the same much faster, but you can count on a several days of work per door. It also of course depends on the repairs required. Mine were in a state beyond patch.

Great job. I hope to learn to do some rust repair someday as an amateur and posts liked this are inspiring. What is your reason for recommending to saving the originals if you replace? I imagine the OP's parts aren't as bad as yours and maybe the body guys can fabricate metal for the repairs like you did.

 

[72MustangSprint]

I will check my 72 parts car for the condition of the doors .