The Stovebolt Forums Forums The Shop Area Project Journals 1952’ Chevrolet 3100 Project

01/03/22: Over the past few weeks, I’ve been working on getting the door internals rebuilt, installing new weatherstripping and getting my doors back on and adjusted. I am happy to say that the job is finally done. Overall, I am happy with the results. The fit of the doors could be allot better. I followed the advice of many ‘bolters to fit the doors with no latch and weatherstripping. Once I got it to fit, I fitted the latch. I then drilled the hinges each with a single alignment hole sized to fit a couple of #1 Phillips screwdrivers so I could remove the doors and apply the weatherstripping. Once I got the doors remounted, I had to move both latch’s out a bit, to get the doors to latch properly. I suspect the weatherstripping I bought from Classic Parts is the issue. It feels pretty supple but I need to slam the doors to get them to latch. I suppose it will compress a bit over time so I‘m leaving well enough alone.

I’m anxious to test drive her to see if I gained any ground quieting her down.

Looking forward to hearing your "driving report".

Might be awhile. All of the local roads are white with salt.

Dang Phil !!! That looks great, the color works nice too.

Phil, I finally had a few minutes to watch the video of the lower door repair. Tony is a Master, the finished product looked great. I have a lot to learn no doubt but I'm not afraid to try. Thanks for the link.

Old man winter has been coming down on us hard here in upstate NY, with single digits days, below zero temps at night, and an unheated garage, there is not much hope of wrenching on the old truck. I’ve been wanting to fill that big hole in my dash due to the absence of a radio, since I first bought the truck. Since I don’t listen to any radio my intent is to install a hidden Bluetooth setup and a radio blank off plate. I’ve been watching for any bargains and finally ran across a fellow ‘bolter’ selling one on this forum for a good price in near perfect condition, this past fall.

What a surprise (more like disappointment) I had, when discovered it didn’t fit. I found that the dash had been repaired, apparently from the sins of a previous owner installing an aftermarket radio. The opening was just a bit too small.

This past Christmas, my wife bought me a 3D printer after she saw my interest in my son’s printer during our recent trip to see him. I figured that until I spend the time to repair the dash to fit the original blank off plate, I might be able print one that I could custom fit into the dash.

This proved to be a much harder task than I envisioned, with having to learn not only how the printer worked but also designing this plate in a 3D CAD program to send to the printer. I have previously worked with AutoCad made by AutoDesk for many years and they offer a slimmed down version of Fusion 360 to hobbyists. I had dabbled in Fusion a few years back but needed allot of tutoring (which I found on YouTube), to get to that level of expertise required to design such a part.

Well several weeks later, with a few failed prints and allot of trial and error, I finally got a part that fits. I’m thrilled with the result. All that is needed now is a bit of sanding and warmer weather to apply some paint.

Very nice Phil. Really like the bowtie emblem. Nice customization.
I've been toying with replacement plastic heater knob reproduction with 3D printers. I don't have one, so maybe I could farm that out to you.

Love the bowtie, Phil! Very cool!

I'm going to have to remember the door hinge alignment trick when it comes time to do mine.

Thanks guy’s!
I’d be happy to give it a shot! PM me.

Did you make the fasteners out of plastic also. Now you can make a lot neat stuff a licence topper comes to mind.Good job.