Info needed: Cab 11 Doors

[Bob Carriere]

There were a few old MLU postings concerning rebuilding doors. One of which is mine. Most doors are rusted out at least the bottom third and new metal is needed..... a total new skin inside and out it easier than patching. The door frame U shape can be made locally by a steel fabricator who will bend some U shape strips which you will need to bend/stretch to fit the arch curve of the door frame. A simple wooden form made from 2x8 hard wood is fine. Apply heat to the u shape form and bend down to match the curve buck!!nThe Unique cab 11/12 hinges are NOT available anywhere that I know of and will need to be fabricated from 1/4 thick stock unless you can find some old ones. The Ford models available require too much rewelding of holes and redrilling to be worth the $$$ asked.

A blacksmith/fabricator should be able to make reproductions if you have at least one good one to work from. Pins should be standard Chev 1/4 inch or 5/16....if the pins are loose tap a few marks with a center punch on the pin shaft to tighten them....... as Phil pointed out it is convenient to be able to remove the doors so the pin has only a head at the top end.

The hinges are a weak part of the early cab design..... they twist and distort easily......and the flexibilty to line up the doors comes in handy.
Another weakness of the door frame is at the locking mechanism... the U shape frame is usually cracked. Also where the limiting strap is bolted to the hinge side of the door the U shape frame is usually twisted unless it has been reinforced in it's previous life. Cab 11 did not have a limiting strap and it is not unusual to see Canadian trucks on parade square with the driver's door fully opened against the cargo box.... I suspect they even tied the door handle to the cargo box to keep it flapping around. Part of the reason for leaving the door open is that ti is such a pain to get in and out.....try doing that while wearing heavy Winter clothing.....practical experience in North Africa was to remove and loose the doors very early while in action.

If you need exact measurements I will sketch something from my stock as it should be posted on MLU for future reference.

See what you can find in the restoration thread or under the Hammond barn from a few years back. I will dig up in my photo library for information.

Getting a door repaired/reskinned is a $400 to 500 dollar job in a regular body shop....... don't forget the door handles are FORD 1935/36 UTILITY and LWD has them in stock so as MAC AUTO in chromed format.

Bob C.