Welding is done:

 

Nice job.

 

Done grinding: It is definitely hard to get a grinding wheel in all the little corners, but it looks better than the picture does... so once it gets all primed and painted it should be fine.

 

I also ground a little too much into one spot on the corner you can see in the pic above (oh well; mistakes happen). Now comes the moment of truth.... How do I get the three holes for the mounting bolts drilled out perfectly??? I'll use the reenforcement plate that I have to get the spacing of the holes correct, but aligning it perfectly is going to be a challenge. I'm just going to start by referencing the other door jamb on the passenger side. Wish me luck.

 

One method I sometimes use for copying bits is to get some paper or thin card and mark the edges , use a dirty finger and when you hit a hole or an edge, it can leave a nice marking on the paper. The most important part would be to get the angle of the slot correct which I assume is perfectly straight for the latch to slot into. Height within reason is adjustable on the door latch on the pillar.

 

Slot cut, filed, and primed. All 3 holes have been measured with an electronic caliper and punched for drilling. Just need to get the correct counter sink drill bit for the bolts before drilling.

 

Looking good.

 

I center-punched the stock circles in the body of the door(circled in red), then triangulated the hole for each new bolt(x3) with a pair of electronic calipers, using the passenger door screws as a reference. I next center-punched each of the main three bolt holes and drilled them all out with a smaller diameter 5/32 sized drill bit, for each 1/4 inch size bolt. I next used a hand drill with metal counter sinking bits to drill out to the final diameter of the bolts(1/4 inch) and allow for the head of the bolt to be counter-sunk into the new metal. Then used different sized drill bits to drill out the hole circled in yellow and then finished it with a cylindrical rasp/file. Finished with a couple quick hits of primer on the inside and outside.

 

It works! What a relief... she ain't pretty and I still need to paint it the stock forrest green color, but works like a charm.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96le...ature=youtu.be

Merry Christmas everyone!

 

Great job there.

 

Nice!