[norton00]

I have just registered as a user again. Been away with health problems for a year and I'm ready to go full tilt on the truck again. The Doc say's it's O.K., the ticker will hold up.
I'm at the stage of wanting suicide door. I had read somewhere way back when that there was a site that laid out the info for creating your own custom fit hinges with dimensions from certain reference points. Has anyone seen or know of this site? I think it had been posted with an engineering firm. I have been reading the posts in Body Ext. for hinges but got bored with the "cheap paint " thread.
Just an insight.. I'm building a '69 Chevy P/U pro street. 9" rear c/w 4 wheel disc brakes. Lowered, shaved and the cab moved reward 3". 1 Pc tilt front end on pneumatics. My trips are generally short ones hence the 355 c.i. but dyno'd at 426H.P. through a massaged 700R4.
Any direction would be appreciated.

[MARTINSR]

I did a search here on the forum and came up with this... http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/sear...earchid=160923

I recognize many of these threads, there is some real good stuff there.

Brian

[MARTINSR]

I posted on another forum to get this URL. I had remembered seeing it there a long time ago, pretty darn good tutorial on a truck just like yours. But don't neglect all the great info on the threads in the link above. There is some real important stuff on the placement of the hinge pin in one or more of the threads.

http://www.suicided.com/suicidedoor1.htm

Brian

[norton00]

Thanks for the info... Guess where I'm going....Later.

[gmwillys]

whats with all this fascination for suicide doors? Just wondering

[MARTINSR]

Norton, here is another EXCELLENT thread on the subject. http://www.fullsizechevy.com/forums/...d.php?t=113656

There are a LOT of very clear photos. So many in fact that I couldn't wait for my crappy 56K to let me take a peek. I didn't look at the whole thing to give you are real good "review" but what I did see looked very good.

GM, I wonder too. Sure, I like them, it can be pretty cool having your doors open "wrong". It will blow away the supermarket crowd that is for sure. But it has to match the theme. To tell you the truth (forgive me Norton) I don't think a "Prosteet" anything looks right with them. The "theme" with Prostreet is it is a Full on drag car that just happens to have license plates on it. Well, I don't see any full on drag cars with suicide doors.

Personally, I think the time is much better spent on detailing to make the car a stand out.

Brian

[Neophyte]

Originally Posted by MARTINSR

Norton, here is another EXCELLENT thread on the subject. http://www.fullsizechevy.com/forums/...d.php?t=113656

There are a LOT of very clear photos. So many in fact that I couldn't wait for my crappy 56K to let me take a peek. I didn't look at the whole thing to give you are real good "review" but what I did see looked very good.

I just had a look at this link and must say that it's very good. As a novice in that area I think it gives me just about all the detail I need to attempt it myself eventually.

[gmwillys]

Right on , Brian.
One point I'd like to make. I've known several hodders who went to "wrong doors" and were pleased with the *****ing look, but didn't like the functionality. OK for a car you show, but not so hot for one driven often. in fact, one of the hotshots here in R.I. lost a rear quarter and fender when the door opened at highway speed. He later admitted he never liked getting in and out of that thing.

[gmwillys]

Oh Oh; Looks llike I used a forbidden word. I'm new here. Did I say something wrong???

[MARTINSR]

Yeah it's got to be clean.

I have a friend who has a 32 Ford three window. He was at an NSRA event here in California back a number of years ago and as he went around a corner his passenger door opened. His wife fell out and went UNDER the door in a ball on the pavement. She had some serious road rash, I'll tell you that!

Like I said, if it follows the theme...... I did a VW bug back in the eighties at the height of the CAL BUG craze. It was cool, fit the "old time hot rod" theme.

The thing I really don't get is the split in half hoods and deck lids or the popping up and spinning around beds in the mini truck or ricer shows.

Like I say, somethings are "taste" others are just plain WRONG.

Brian

[Bee4Me]

Brian, The hotrodder link dosen't work,Just say's "Sorry,No match found" deal.

We thought about them on the 59 P/U, but like you said, it dosen't "fit".

I don't care for all the spectacular's with the Low Rider set either myself,BUT, You have to respect the work and engineering involved.
Some of those are just unbelievable.

[robin58]

Having just completed a suicide door install on one side, I can tell you that I found Jason's site suicidedoors.com pretty useful in showing the ins and outs of doing it with his pictorial on his daily driver S10.

One thing I found out the hard way was that many of the hinges being sold are simply not compatible with some vehicles because of the width required. For example autoloc's hinges were right at the borderline of being able to install them in my '53 pickup. If I were to do this again I would definitely get Hagan's hinges for narrow doors instead or simply flip the hinges from driver's side to passenger side and vice versa.

As far as safety with them is concerned, I would never have considered doing this without installing an automatic ignition engaged deadbolt type lock.

[MARTINSR]

Mike, a cultivator that can do 40 acres an hour would be well "engineered" but I wouldn't want to spend a month applying $2000 of custom paint on it. If you look thru the "Vehicle requirements at .. http://www.hotrodshows.com/guidelines.html you'll see terms such as "engineering qualities and the total aesthetic concept" and "aestheticly pleasing". So there there is a need for both. But at one of these indoor shows (this isn't a Goodguys tailgate party) you will see that most cars doors, decklid, hood are closed because the simple fact is, the open panels take away from the vehicle lines. Sure there are plenty who are going for the big awards who will have everything open. But most cars you will notice have the doors open on the opposite side from the spectators. And the deck lid will be open an inch or so only, so the lines of the car isn't messed up. If the panel is open, the judge will open it to see the details inside and judge them.

If you read the guide lines for any magazine they will say if you want your car in the mag and it is parked at an event, leave the doors and hood closed.
That being said, I have a hard time thinking spending a so much time on something that will only be seen for a few seconds at a time when you get in and out of the car.

Brian

[norton00]

I'd first like to say thanks for the feedback and sorry for taking so long to reply. The main reason for the "look" of Suicide doors is necessity. I have applied a one piece tilt front end; that is not cut behind the wheel wells, and as a result the hinges slightly interfere with the opening and closing of the hood. The cab frame that supports the hinges will clear, but with about 1/2" each side.I intend to post some pics in a couple of weeks as the truck is being "professionally" cleaned-up, body wise. I never said I was a body-man. I have done quite a bit of the work myself but sometimes it is more prudent to hand it over to the professionals to finish.
As I live in " The Great White North" there will be time this winter to do the doors and replace the firewall, opting for that smooth look. I know sooner than later I need to finish as I have already taken too many years, and I need to put some miles on her. I am sure when you see the pics and read the litany you will know where I am comimg from...my buddies do.