66 Valiant driver's door

66 mopar said
Great advise. I might try the repair 66 Dvert suggested, my door is in pretty good condition except for the area where the door latch is mounted. And as B-onefan suggested I need to look at the condition of the hinges, I see bushings and pin kits on line so that might be another repair I need to do while I'm at it. I see the door that Cosging was talking about and I think he wants $100.00 now. Thats a pretty good price and it gives me another option, but that area around the latch area may be weaken also. I do know driver's doors take a lot of abuse. So if my repair doesn't come out right I'll look into replacing the door. I still want to do the repair myself.

I used slightly thicker metal when replacing the top hole and tucked behind it on the top part of the repair piece was a lap joint to help stiffen the area. all screw holes were punched into a recessed shape before welding.

if I have to do it again on the other dart I'll just make a piece for the repair, add the latch and make a stiffener piece all the way around the latch so I have about 1 inch plus around the screws and latch to help. Then mig it all in place. the hinges were the worst culprit. I got the pin and hinge kit from the help section in autozone. I did have to drill my hinges out to accept the bushings AND slightly grind the insert/recessed areas where the bushings were going so the bushings fit on the other part of the hinge tightly. doors are now solid! make sure your star type rollers on the hinge are moveable and not worn down from being stuck, mig some of the worn tips if needed to get them back into shape. you'll appreciate the door staying where you put it when you get out of the car after it's finished instead of swinging back closed. if the bent piece of metal has a worn groove in it I'd flip it if you can or mig it up so it's smooth and hits the star roller like it's supposed to. whew!!! easier to do that type it.