Door drain holes: I don't have any.

[In The Ten Ring]

I guess the bondo boys back in 1990 thought the drain holes were a liability. I don't have those. I'll have to remove my door panels to have a look but if need be, is drilling a couple of holes a good idea to let water run out?

[leddzepp]

I think it's a great idea

[hugger6933]

Greg it needs to be at the lowest point you can possibly get. Jim

[litew8]

If you drill, be sure to paint the holes afterwards. You should be able to tell where the original weep holes are, since they pertrude a little (unless they hammered them flat).

[In The Ten Ring]

Thanks guys. I'll get onto that before I take the truck out on a rainy day.

I swear, the more I get into this truck, the more I realize how poor of a job was done "fixing this truck up" in 1990.

[cdowns]

You wont b able to store goldfish in the door if you drill drain holes

[SCHRUMGMC]

Picture of the truck? I am curious to see it

[WIDESIDE72]

Originally Posted by In The Ten Ring

Thanks guys. I'll get onto that before I take the truck out on a rainy day.

I swear, the more I get into this truck, the more I realize how poor of a job was done "fixing this truck up" in 1990.

I have never bought a vehicle that someone else has done extensive work on. I had two older brothers and learned from their mistakes! (Including a "rebuilt" 350 Chevy engine for $300 that had just been cleaned up and rattle canned with chevy orange- funny thing was it looked good from the outside, hard to tell it from one that has had $1000's of dollars of machine work done)
It's getting harder and harder to find cars and trucks that some else hasn't "fixed up".

[WIDESIDE72]

I would think you should be able to locate where the drain slots should be and use a cut off wheel and/ or drill to open the holes back up. I don't have the measurements handy, but can measure my doors if you need them, to get you in the ballpark.

[In The Ten Ring]

Originally Posted by WIDESIDE72

I would think you should be able to locate where the drain slots should be and use a cut off wheel and/ or drill to open the holes back up. I don't have the measurements handy, but can measure my doors if you need them, to get you in the ballpark.

Thanks man, I'll try to get pics of the door next time out to the garage. My mom has been really bad off today and it's been very stressful.

My dad bought this truck new but getting rust fixed, to him, meant BONDO and so, he had it bondo'ed big time. Even now, that what's he suggests to me and gets upset if I disagree so I try not to bring it up.

If I had a choice, I wouldn't buy a truck that had been messed with at all either.

[MagmaJct]

Originally Posted by In The Ten Ring

Thanks man, I'll try to get pics of the door next time out to the garage. My mom has been really bad off today and it's been very stressful.

My dad bought this truck new but getting rust fixed, to him, meant BONDO and so, he had it bondo'ed big time. Even now, that what's he suggests to me and gets upset if I disagree so I try not to bring it up.

If I had a choice, I wouldn't buy a truck that had been messed with at all either.

Common theme eh? LOL. I'm NOT laughing at you, I'm laughing with you. Your experience with your dad, his stubbornness, got me thinking about other people I meet on message forums, or their associated FB profiles.

On the 67-72 Chevy Truck FB site, someone posted a question/problem with overheating. One commenter's advice was to remove the thermostat. As if the thermostat prevents cooling even when open. I argued that if the thermostat has failed, replace it. If it functions, it's not the problem.

This guy insisted his years of experience proved you can run without a thermostat. I've experienced this attitude for years, not just on the internet, but at home, and at work, in enthusiast clubs, etc... The attitude is that "I'm older, have a ton of experience, don't question me!"

In the manufacturing industry, I've seen older experienced technicians take short cuts all the time! Age has nothing to do with it, except how long you've gotten away with it! Years of experience only matters if it's the RIGHT experience! In no way am I arguing to discount someone because of their age, however.

I've found I've learned enough to know what advice given is good advice. Good advice starts to have a nice "ring" to it. BS does not. It's your ride. I'm a mechanic and electrician, I can fix almost anything mechanical or electrical in almost any vehicle. The cost/availability of proper tools and replacement parts is my only hinderence.

I will be delving into body restoration in the coming years. Something I know very little about. When I'm financially ready to restore my classic vehicles, I want to use the least amount of Bondo I can get away with. This means I'm going to have to learn how to metal bump and weld.

It looks like these are skills you're going to have to learn yourself. Perhaps your old man is on to something. Maybe he's just trying to save you from having to do all that trial and error that comes along with learning a new skill, all the frustrations, false starts, and the real possibility of giving up altogether! He obviously does not have the same passion you have for this truck. For him, it's transportation, but for you, it's much more.

Perhaps if you were trying to sell it and turn a quick buck, you could "ignore" these flaws, and hope the buyer doesn't look too closely. But this is a hobby. Hobbies aren't supposed to be profitable. An in-law of mine recently asked me about my 71 VW Fastback. When I told him I planned on getting it running and eventually restored. He suggested I could then sell it for a profit. When I told him I planned on keeping it. He didn't understand. I said: "Why would I put years of my life into something I don't intend to enjoy?"

I apologize for the long majorly off-topic rant/post. I've been in your place more times I can count. Eventually, you'll encounter more people who understand your passion and become helpers, instead of hinderers.

Regards,
Mike

[greentruck]

Were the bottoms of the doors replaced at some point? I welded in re-pop door bottoms and skins and they didn't have the drains so i'm gonna cut them in. If the bondo boys filled them cant you just knock out the bondo and have the original drain?

[greentruck]

Dang this is an ancient post. Sorry I just used the search to figure out my same problem...

[In The Ten Ring]

2015 is "ancient?" You must be very young.

MagmaJct. The more I get to know my dad, the more I realize he is a staunch advocate of fixing things to function very well and take more of a load than what broke them, but at the same time he does this at minimum cost.

When I replaced all the radiator hoses, I found I needed a different size nut driver for each clamp. Dad never once took his (now my) truck to the shop in the 20 years he owned it. Each clamp was hard to reach.

I bought all new clamps and made sure one nut driver fit them all. I put them on so that the bolt head could be reached at the easiest angle.

When dad and I put the front end back on, several holes didn't line up. Dad said "just cross thread those in!" I unhappily went along with him.

The next night I got dad to reverse himself because I managed to get him to say "I'll support whatever you decide." The next day dad and I took each fender off and he chased the threads straight again. We also used a die grinder to open up one hole in the core support and four holes in the grill brackets. The grill is now on without any cross threading of bolts.

Dad was chief electrician, welder, and general mechanic for 20 years at a local coal mine. Repairs had to be made in a hurry, with minimum expenditure. They had to hold up to tons of coal and stress, not look good.

My dad loved my truck but our personalities are different. I will pay extra and go the extra mile to get it straight. I am younger though and I don't have arthritis and diabetes....dad does.

*In the process of typing this, I posted it several times, re-read it each time, and made edits each time, mostly for bad grammar or misspellings. I do this with every post I make, every email I send, and every memo and / or paper I type.

[greentruck]

As in ancient I meant at two years ago that puts it at probably thousands of threads ago on this forum. Did you end up drilling holes or cutting the slot?

[In The Ten Ring]

I haven't gotten to the doors at all.