Soon to be Suicidal, my 62 Caddy Project Thread

I'm not real great with the whole typing thing, so expect there to be lots of typos and all that good shit. Anyways, the vehicle is my 1962 Cadillac Coupe Deville, Mary Kay ed. Bout it stock, bagged the rear and was going to sell it as a tail dragger until my buddy started gettin on my about all the suicidedoor decals I have everywhere, and how I couldn't commit suicide if my life depended on it. So here goes.

First, its cold in Wisconsin during the winter so I needed a place to work. Lift, compressor, electricity, heat, $150 bones a month:



I have a TON of room, although I am only paying for a 20X12, he stuck me back in that corner for now in my buddy Steve's stall and there is a TON of space, like I said.

Anyways, Steve ( LS1S10 ) here on the forum is helping me a great deal with this project. Day 1 we rolled the car in and did shit, that was a task in itself.

Next day we got into the shop the interior came out, everything. Door panels, half of the carpet ( I am still undecided what I want to do with that situation ), all the door mechanicals, handles, etc.





And then after some serious brainstorming, thinking, whatever you call the brain usage, came some measuring then cutting. Here are the stock foward swinging hinges as they were installed 43 years ago:



There was a piece of plastic in there to close it all off, we will be cutting some rather thick sheet metal pieces to fit in there that will bolt on, and also hold the new striker.

This is a photo of the inside of the door's door jamb. Unlike most vehicles, my suicide hinges will mount to the OUTSIDE side of the door, since the window will be in the way. The door is VERY WIDE, so we will be fabricating brackets that weld to the inner jamb and come in behind the window, or to the outside of the inside of the door. If that makes sence? Anyways, heres the photo:

*EDIT: I edited the photo to show where abouts I am talking about, you can see the window track in this photo



Then turning around, the other side of the jamb, We got the top hole cut and everything will clear the rear window, the lower is going to be a little higher then I wanted it but it needs to clear the window motor. Steve got the hole cut and now were ready to cut the second:



And a close up of where it was cut a TINY bit too far, nothing the welder cat fix



Today Steve was working on his wifes van, so I helped him throw the intake back together, and a new tran pan gaskette. Good fun, f'ing minivans

So, thats it so far. Other winter plans include re-baggin the rear with 1/2" valves and 5/8" line ( right now its dual 3/8" valves and dual 1/2" line ), baggin the front ( I finished the bag cups last week ), fiberglassing all 6 interior panels and get um in primer, possibly get rid of the lame glass'd center console and take the radio and suspension gauges into a fiberglass dash pad of some sort, weld up all the trim / molding holes on the exterior, shave the handles, and get the bottom half of the car in primer. I might tint it pink, might run black. The roof will stay pink for next season though, for sure.

Any hints / tips / suggestions, lemme know.

 

2 suggestions.

Ditch the center sul. Go with a floating one.
Second. Hook me up with some parts of that wrx.

oh and satin and pink...nice.

 

Whoa, it looks like that thing was pink from the factory! Whatever you do, you got to keep it pink, I don't think I've ever seen a factory pink cadillac that old.

 

Suicide doors, why?
Never made a damn bit of sense to me.

 

That car is not a MK caddi. Too old.

 

How many other 62 caddys are runnin with suicides? Thats why

Previous owner of this car as stated on the title was the Mary Kay Hopkins Foundation. So I just assumed thats what it was. Either way, I haven't been able to find any proof this car was a different color. Floors, firewall, everything is that pink color. So it was either stock that color, or someone did one HELL of a repaint

 

How many people are renting shop space in this way? I know ya got to do what ya got to do, but I'd go fucking bonkers if I had to share space with people I didn't know really really well. I'd wake up nights wondering if my car was on fire 'cause some tool did something stupid while welding and set the building on fire. Then there's the whole thing about theft.

 

Their are six guys there, 2 of which RARELY show up, 1 of which is a total knob job, and the other 2 I am real good friends with. I take my tools home, and my car isnt going anywhere the way we have it jammed in there.

As far as fire goes, the building has a sprinkler system And it is also monitered by an ADT security system.

I am still kinda sketch about the whole idea. I just started renting this month. BUT, so far so good. Once spring comes along it will be back in my backyard

 

I would kill to have access to a garage like that. I can barely afford rent in SF let a lone a nice garage... I have a shed basically with no electricty at best right now.

 

Give it time Jason! You just moved there And your truck is BAD ASS, gotta find somewhere to park that beast

 

Well, its been a few days and I have'nt been up there lately. Went up yesterday for a few hours and tonight for a few hours to play with Steves cheapy welder, 100 bucks brand new and its not too bad. Anyways, heres both hinge housings tacked in:



Holes are now cut in the door, Steve came up with a simple yet effective way to mount the adjustable bracket with the kit to some rectangly tubing, same size as that of the hinge pocket. Here's the holes in the door as well as a photo of the rectangle un cut with the bracket how we think it should work ( we are cutting an inch off the tubing yet too, bear with me )



To make sure the hinges would be parallel we did the ole rod through the hole dealie, here's teh access hole to pull the rod back out :rotf:



And I started welding up the holes for the lame ass upper molding, I decided I am keeping the lower though. I dont think it will look right shaved ( edge has a 3/8" tall flat spot that looks horrible without the molding in place ).



So far soo good, have a LONG ways ahead of us though :rant:

 

Damn, got pushed to the 2nd page already. No love for the backwards doors on here eh?

 

I crossing my fingers for you. That will prove to be a very challenging modification. There are a few things that are going to cause a few bumps in the road.

First; because the hinges you will be using will cause the door to open out side of quarter panel you are going to have a problem with the door clearing that bottom fin. The reason the regular opening hinges work is because the fin is less prominant toward the front of the car and because the door opens behind the fender.

Second; now that the pivot point of the hinge is effectivly 4-5" away from the centerline of the door the hinges are going to be supporting more weight. It's not actual weight but it's a leverage thing.

Third; If your fitting, welding and finishing are not perfect you will be continualy fighting sheet metal that is thin, fatigued and cracking throughout the life of that car.

Fourth; because you chose to mount the hinges behind the glass rather than stepping the hinge arms and mounting them closer to the door panel on the other side of the glass you cannot tie the hinge boxes into the main structure of the door shell. I would bet that the sheet metal in the door side of the jam will not support that door for very long.

Fifth; My suggestions would be to not do any thing to the stock hinges until the suicide hinges are 100% that way if you have to go back to the stock opening doors you can.

Good Luck

Brick

 

I just typed out a super long reply and something happened so I lost it. So here is a summary

I know that that lower body line will be in the way. I plan on trimming it ever so slightly if I need to, but I am pretty sure it will swing 65 degrees ( not the entire 90 that the kit does for most vehicles ). I will be happy with 65.

I am not sure what you mean by your 'second' Could you explain?

I am pretty sure we will have it strong enough so that I wont need to worry about cracking / warping, BUT if you have any suggestions shoot um at me. So far, these are great and I appreciate it.

Even if I did step the arms, the inner door shell is nothing more then sheet metal. I dont see much structure there at all. The hinges in the front and bolted right to the inner jamb at roughly the same locations as I am welding mine in, only in the front instead of the rear. I would imagine that the metal is the same thickness there as it is in the rear.

I also plan to weld some stock between the hinge casings on the inside of the door and behind the quarter to bring them together, and I might weld to the inner door skin as well. Back to stepping, these things are THICK. If I did change directions and go that route, how do you suggest I bend these bitches? I dont really have the tooling in the garage space I am using?

Stock hinges are still stock Planned to leave those stock until the door is swinging, and I can sit atop the OPEN door without bending / binding. Then get my fat ass brother atop there. If all is a go, I pull out the stockers and weld in the striker pins

 

to elaborate on the previous second: I magine if you took the door off completely and tried to balence it front to rear off of the bottom edge of the door. The point at which the door is balanced would be roughly in the middle. If you were to put a hinge on at that point (I relize this wouldn't work but it is to prove a point) the weight in front of and behind the hinge would be the same and there would be very little stress on the hinge. Now as you move the hinge point toward the outside side edge of the door either front or read the weight is no longer evenly distributed on the hinge and it become harder for the hinge and what its' attached to to do it's job. You have now moved that point out even further.

Here is an easy analogy: If you were to pick up a cinder block and hold it, it would be easier to hold it closer to your body instead of with your arms completely outstreatched in front of you. The cinder block doesn't actually weigh more but the leverage is working against you.


Oh yea the sheet metal at the front of the door would be the same but the plate that the hinge bolts to helps distribute the load over a larger surface.
When you MIG weld the thick metal to the sheet metal the steel will become brittle right next to the weld.

Brick

 

I got to go for the night but I'll check back tomorrow. Good luck with your Cad.

 

OKay, I understand now. But lets say I DID go and step the hinges to the inner part of the door, then we still have the same problem but opposite no? And as far as the plate distributing the weight, thats why we decided to go with the 2X3 steel tubing. I figure, we are using the entire outside edge of the tubing distributing the weight on both upper and lower hinges, then welding them together would make it twice as rigid ( another piece of 2X3 welded between the upper and lower INSIDE the door as well as behind the quarter ), as well as to the outer skin which wouldnt be MUCH but some to prevent the hinges from LIFTING a bit better then they would as floaters. And behind the quater, I figured we would brace the hinges to the floor steel as well as the middle and lower part of the inner jamb. Does that make sence?

I still think it should work this way, but I am re-thinking it again. Its a wide door, thus making it twice as difficult. Hrmmmm

 

I think you've got the idea but this will prove to be very challenging no matter which way you go about it.
If you look at most factory suicide doors they are not as short top to bottom (not including the window) as yours and they are also not as long front to rear. Also most are not hard top style either.
The reason I caution you about suicide doors on this application is because the vehicle its' self doesn't make for the easiest suicide job. I'm sure it can be done and it will be cool but you better think it out completly.

Once again, Good Luck
I look forward to an update

Brick

 

Who the F#%K rated this thread?

 

??


Been doing alot of other small things on the caddy, haven't been working on the door much lately. These replies have got me double guessing EVERYTHING. I think I just need to walk away from it for a few more weeks.

 

It swings, not a full 90 but enough to make me smile It is 'pretty' sturdy, but not yet re-inforced. This was the test swing. I am very happy to say this is going to be alot less work to make work then I had originally thought. The body line does need to be trimmed a tiny bit at the very corner, and the the molding by the front wing window hits when it closes so I'll have to do something about that, but thats little stuff.

Im excited!!

 

Nobody has an opinion as to how it looks? Common now!

 

OK. I'll bite...it looks good...and it opens farther than I would have envisioned...but plenty of room for ingress and egress (those are fancy words for in and out)...

I'm one of those people that wonders why others go to this much work to have a backward door...when the door is closed and the car is moving, no one knows it suicidal...and when you park it at a show, are you going to leave the doors open? That looks like an invitation for someone, anyone, to sit in your car!!!

But...it IS your car...and if you are happy, then...IT LOOKS GREAT!!!

R-

 

i like it. it looks great. i think it was a good idea. but please buy or make some saftey latches for the front so they don't fly open while your driving.

 

lookin good pork, i need to get over there and check her out when you pull the motor this week, and we need to see about those hubcaps.. my lincoln NEEEEEEEDS em... LOL... i need to get her on the road too for sum,mer... cant wait to cruise, and OH YEAH... savin for rear bags at LEAST in the lincoln, i know you will help...

 

I really dunno why I needed them either, but their soo cool We did my buddys s10, and man was it fun getting gas for the first time and seeing everyone at the gas station look at us like we were from space!

 

I'm using BEAR CLAW latches

 

I just think it's neat that you bit off a big fucking chunk and managed to chew and swallow it. There's something to be said for that.

 

Keep up the good work Eric.

 

Ouffh!! Thats really really kool! Keep us updated as you proceed.