I've got a bug about putting suicide doors on my truck. I know it would be a lot of work...I'm just not sure about it. Any thoughts or opinions?
Im about to do my first set on a non model a.... Rear doors on a 53 coronet... Im willing to try it to be different and if you think thats what your truck needs go for it, but go with your gut feeling cuz the only opinion that matters is yours on the look you want for your truck.
your profile shows you have a `61 ford F-100...is that the one you want to do it to? seams to me it's a lot of work just to screw it up
If others say not to, then that's a good enough enough reason to go do it. Be a customizer not a restorer ..
I'll be doing some more thinking about it at any rate... but thanks for the opinions so far. I may not agree with everything everyone says, but it does help me to hear different sides and maybe see a side I didn't consider or didn't give enough thought to. Your input is always greatly appreciated!
Do what u want on your own terms. Whether u go for it or not. I'm doin the rear doors on my fleetline. No looking back.
Suicide doors are like chopped tops. They're cool, but they're not for every vehicle. Most people will say they're wrong for your truck. Me included. But, what we say doesn't mean shit. It's your truck- if you want suicide doors, go for it.
Sounds like a mini trucker idea. Are you sure there aren't more worthy ideas to invest time money and effort on?
I did a tech piece last year on suicide doors from scratch. The link is below. We had never done anything like suicide doors before so as someone said above, we just had to do it. Would we do it again ? No Why not do it again ? Time could be spent doing something more important. Should you do suicide doors ? Only if you want to add a bunch of extra time to your build Now that it is all done, it simply does not produce the WOW factor and the time is not recoverable....................but the Fleetline does have suicide doors http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=451530
Take an old fools word for it you ! You'll be sorry !you'll try it anyway !just remember i told "ya" so?
if time is not a factor in your build, why not. it's your truck, build it to what you envision to be.
I have a 34 IH 1.5 ton tat I have been cutting and dropping to make a pickup, I have always wanted to to have suicide doors and now I do. It really wasn't as much work as I thought. My conversion was pretty cheap I found some fiat spider hinges that work perfect, bear claw latches up front. Safety wise, I think it is important to have a switch engage a lock when the truck hits drive (assuming automatic), I have a 5 year old and don't want to take any chances. DO IT.
A buddy of mine did his 55 ford . Looks good on paper.... he is sorry . I like em , on the right thing. MY $.02
I don't like them, they look cool, but actually using them sucks. I much prefer regular doors to get in and out of.
I think it is a stupid idea. I see it as a trend. They sell kits for Chevy pickups and there are a few around. I think they are from Wyoming. It kind of proves the theory that a lot of money does not mean good taste.
Customization without good taste is dangerous, Im not saying you cant make it cool but dont do it just to be "custom". It has to approve the overall apperance of your car or its just a waste.
If you have another running hot rod to enjoy, and already lowered the truck and its a running operating vehicle, then Id go for it. But if you are just doing it to make it cool, and the thing still doesnt run, and you have never enjoyed it as anything other than a working project, Id say you could spend the time better elsewhere.
I started to do it on my 53 dodge truck and didn't like the safety factor for my wife who will be driving it, so I took out the one side I had done and went back to stock. I still have the kit, although one side is trimmed. If you want it, I would sell it to you cheap. pm me if interested.
We just did the doors on my '37 Chevy Bobber Truck. It really wasn't that hard to do. The doors were already off the cab when I bought it and someone had torched the hinges so we didn't have much to work with to put them back on the way it came from the factory, so we decided to suicide the doors on it.
I put the kit in my old VW bug. You gotta' have the right body style for it to look good IMO. It sure wasn't as much work as I expected, The hardest part is getting them to work around your window mechanism. They called 'em SUICIDE mostly because of the poor latches they had back in the day. I switched to VW Jetta latches and feel totally safe. I may add a dead bolt for added security. everyone said shave the handles, but I added '32-'34 Ford handles up front. after all that work I want people to notice them when they're closed. of course then I had to remove the drip rail and round the front bottom corner. It's all in the body style.
Great advice. Do what you want to your cars, but if you're not enjoying it, get that going first and then think about it.
I decided to suicide my 28 Willys and at the time I thought it was a great idea,,, Who dosent love a chopped truck with suicide doors. I thought it cant be that had. I bought the auto loc kit and nothing worked, it was the biggest pain in the ass on my build, I fought them every step of the way. I finally scraped the hinge kit and went to the junk yard looking for hinges that will better fit my truck. I found a set of hinges from a late 60's ford truck and two days later my doors opened and closed and locked. yes it was a huge pain in the ass, but so is chopping a top. Its definatly worth the extra work. I say do it but read everything you can from other people that have done it, and get help... Here are some photos of the hinges I used cleaned and taken apart Door clamped in place I still need to finish the door bracing, but they work and are aligned perfect
I've run them on the 48 since 1982 and will have them on the truck again after the rebuild. I'll agree that they are a lot of work and aren't for every vehicle or everyone. But they aren't that hard to get in and out of and my truck was chopped a year before I did the doors. Do your homework though and study how you are going to do it before doing any cutting or changes. Just like on a chop you have to have everything aligned and perfect BEFORE you do the modifications. if you don't you may never get things squared up right afterwards. This was on the www.67-72chevytrucks.com board http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=442320&page=2 his whole truck is a pretty ambitious build that saved a totally rusted hulk and made a truck out of it but the suicide door part will give you a lot of good info before attempting it on your own. Installing the hinges and fitting them to the doors "before" I took the doors off my truck in 1982 would have saved me about 50 hours of headaches then and made things fit a lot better than they did. You should be able to take what he presents in his build on the suicide door install and run with it yourself on your truck.
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