The latch, or bolt if you will, stuffs into the 2 step striker by a minimum ½" so I don't see how it's an issue. 2nd, yes, the original springs can get weak or indeed break. There should be a measurable effort to open the door when everything is as it should be. New bear claws open if you fuckin look at em too fast. And there's very little travel in the handle as well. Yeah, THAT'S fuckin safe. Henry had his cars displayed with a 12" block under 1 front wheel and 1 opposing rear wheel. Take a look at the door gaps Anybody doing this with their hot rods? Why do I think its a bad idea? Suppose you got knocked out cold and a fire was possible, and helpers cant open the doors. Sometimes they get it right and we shouldn't change it. The prosecution rests.
Suicide doors are cool I think, well not on PT Cruisers but on old Fords I don't have any issues. To answer your question I would brace the car, cut the roof off, suicide the doors and weld the top back on. I would also reinforce the B pillar while I was at it.
The votes are certainly stacked against suicide doors on a 35 for good reason. Maybe extra points at a show , but not a good enough reason to go to a pile of work to suit a past fad.
I helped my Buddy , suicide the doors on his 36 Chebbie and swap to 35 grill shell , no chop , rumble seat . It was a real PIA mostly because wood had to exit also . Lots of wood ! I just saw a 36 sedan drug out of a basement not seen daylight in 60 years , OEM paint interior ,wheels , drivetrain . It is a truck model body also . I’ll try to get images to share next week .
I find suicide door uncomfortable to get in the car but that most like because it’s not what I’m used to I always tell my passengers to buckle up in my 29 Roadster their elbow is right above the door handle and yes the door has flown open and on occasion, on a left turn Yikes
Well my 48 is chopped and has suicide doors and If I had do overs I would have not done the suicide doors. As others said, an extreme amount of work for somethign that screams the 1980's on anything that didn't leave the factory with it. Safety latches are an ablolute necessity. I've had to repair my right rear doorpost twice because the door blew open when I wasn't paying attention and didn't get it latched right. I'm building a new cab with several mods but this time around I'm not doing the suicide doors even though my daughter thinks that it has to have them. What was cool in 1982 when I did it isn't all that cool now.
My '38 Plymouth. 3"chop, suicide doors, Bearclaw latches, safty locks, '57 Chevy hinges. Chopped first then suicided.
I didn't watch the video serie. The problem I see with chopping the doors first is the inclination of the A and B post, because if you just go straigt down looking from the front you will have a gap between the top of the door and the roof. So either you don't finish the inner door to be able to move the door post or have to go back to modify further or you widen the roof which on a flat windshield car is not a problem. On a car like a model A, a 32 and 33/34 chopping the doors first is not that big of a deal, but once you move toward turret top, it might not be the best solution and certainly not on a 50's car. Then again I'm not Walden, but his video is for a 32, don't think it applies for every car.
I’m no metal master, but there’s no way I would chop the doors before the body. I think it’s much easier to adjust the small cut area on a door than the large cut area on the body for perfect fit.
Neither. The 1935 Ford 2-door sedan doesn't need to be chopped. So you don't need to spend your time effort or money. Unless you're going to Bonneville or something. And No car needs to have its doors "suicided". Look at almost any car's doors. The front edge is vertical. Straight up and down. Square to the world. Now look at a 1932 1933 1934 Ford or similar. 1933 1934 Dodge and such. By virtue of having the hinges at the rear, the front edge of the doors can be and therefore are slanted. With the added feature of a nice big radius at the front bottom. And that's the only reason why suicide doors as originally made by the manufacturers is such a beautiful thing. Suicide rear doors? Big deal. Golly, I love to hear myself talk when I get so opinionated. Edit: One additional opinion. The only cars that possessed and displayed and enjoyed the full potential beauty of rear hinged doors were the 1932, '33 and '34 Ford 3W coupes.
By this logic no car needs to be modified at all so this whole website and everything we do is unnecessary, therefore I move we just shut it down now….
Thats all good and well but if you see in Pt. 2 Bobby has fixtures and templates that most folks don't have , hence the reason most folks chop the body first. We would Do as he said, all repairs, fit the doors, then take the door tops off for the chop. Doors stay tacked or Cleco'ed in place during the duration. I do like to see his methods.
Oh dear. I'm sorry. Please don't do that. I didn't mean to imply that I'm even capable of logic. Just opinion.
Hello, Since I got my first ride in a 1934 Ford 5 window coupe when I was a little kid, I have always liked the style that coupe body presented. The swept back grille, the angle of the roof line and even the hood louvers. It made for a car that looked like it was going somewhere, fast. The windblown look. (not like the squarish, upright 32 coupes and sedans) When three of us got in the cab, those (suicide) front opening doors were a good thing. Easy to open, easy to slide into place without having to go around the opened door. But, three teenagers in a 34 Ford coupe, even with the front opening doors was only for short drives. Absolutely no room to be comfortable with the big floor shifter sticking right in your face. 1957-59… my friend’s black 5 window Ford Coupe running in A/Gas Class with the big Oldsmobile motor, but still, a daily driver to high school and an after school job. (1st photo is a copy from the web) Our friend built his 1934 Ford Coupe for his daily driver/ weekend Lion’s Dragstrip racer in the A/Gas Class, there was no doubt as to what motor to use. A big Oldsmobile motor, multiple Stromberg carbs, pistons, hot cam, and a LaSalle transmission. Most of the local hot rod coupes at Lions had similar set ups to include SBC motors and Cad/Buick powered coupes. That was the hot ticket in the early days of late 50s to early 1960. The sound of a "big" Oldsmobile, multiple carb motor on our Westside of Long Beach house driveway was tremendous and exciting. Jnaki The 34 doors looked as if they could swing open easier than the rear opening standard doors. From the inside, the safety locks worked, but most put in some kind of external lock for a back up, just in case. Of the years our friend owned the front opening door, he never had an experience of “accidently” opening the door while the car was in motion. In our favorites, the two door 40 Ford Sedan we were going to get, would be safe for transporting our toddler granddaughter back then. Our choice moved to a 4 door due to the front opening door and direct access to the rear seat. For folks not to lean over and kill the lower back despite all of the stomach/back strengthening exercises, access to the front opening doors would have been much easier. Direct access to get in and out, as well as buckling up a toddler or two, in their specific seats. As nice as the 35-36 Ford looks, the 34 coupe is already fashioned that way from the factory. You can add your own added safety devices if warranted. But, for daily usage and easier access to the tight seating arrangement of a coupe, a front opening door would be the first thing, before a chop. Plus, have you ever ridden in a chopped hot rod for long miles or on any road trip? Perhaps, the custom front opening door of a 35-36 would suffice for a custom hot rod, daily driver. YRMV Well said… But, on the other hand, a front opening door makes it easier to get into any seat, bench or bucket. If the seat is pushed back to make more room inside, a butt first approach is easier for anyone. We have all learned the foot in first position, but once a butt first seating approach is done, there is no other way to do it. Especially with bad knees or back. If it were my choice, ditch the chop idea as it will feel cramped all of the time. (not just for long road trips…good luck on that) The front opening doors will give the coupe/sedan/truck a great way to sit and enjoy the hot rod. One last thing, if the bucket seats were attached to the Chrysler Corporation mechanism from back in the 50s-60s, when one opens the door, the seat swivels out to meet and greet! What a better way to introduce oneself to the interior than a wide open door, a swiveling bucket seat and comfort in a no chop headroom coupe/sedan/truck. Do the doors first, then ride around in head room comfort. No Chop for any daily driver. Keep the good looking proportions of the 1935-36 ford styling and to enjoy the car each time you get into place for a short or long road trip.
Never got the suicide door thing; Seems like making a change for the sake of change. A mild chop would enhance the look of the car, though...
I agree with the no suicide door crowd on a car that didn't come with them. I've got a couple 32 three windows and a 34 five window and I've never bothered to use the locks because the doors originally latch good and I know to never touch the door handle going down the road. If you do decide to do both, I think I would chop the doors and then chop the top to fit them then if you still want to, suicide the doors.
I thing suicide doors are the cats 'meow' ! IF you know how.......do it! Seemz like the top should be chopped first ...then the doors to match up. Be sure and leave the door handles(on the outside) droopy...I think that's cool too ! 6sally6
I hate suicide doors. I want to figure out how to make ‘32 3w and model 40’s open sensibly. Having chopped a handful of cars…if your doors do not fit perfectly before the chop, then they will never, ever fit perfectly after the chop. So it makes sense to me to have whatever you’re going to do to the doors done, finished, perfectly aligned and latching just right…before you cut them apart. Whether they’re original hinges, if you have to replace hinge pins or the whole hinge, or if you’re going to fuck it up with hidden hinges or suicide hinges…do it before the chop.
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