I'm not going to tell you what to do, but the time it takes isn't really worth the couple seconds of fame while getting in or out. I did mine on my 41 truck and fought with issues with them ever since. As a matter of fact I'm currently putting them back to stock and I couldn't be more happier !
Helped a guy with a 78 Chevy P/U. Used the left hinges on the right and the right hinges on the lt. Turned out well but took about 200 hours by the time all was said and done. Follow the dream!! The Old Tinbasher
I think I've decided not to go with suicide doors. My main factor for not going with them is due to the shaved door handles. I just don't think the amount of work that would go into it is really worth it. Thanks for all your thoughts and advise guys!
I did a set on a OT ride and i would never do another set... Too much time that could be spent somewhere else.
Suicide doors do get attention, even when they're closed, but only if you have door handles still. Everyone who looks at my gasser notices the suicide doors pretty quickly and loves them. Mine are stock, and if it didn't have them already I probably wouldn't have put them on. Too much work, and not that easy to get in and out of the car too!
Could explain why you mostly see them on show cars...I was thrown out of a car and landed on my head..I was very lucky the brain specialist said to me...of course came with negatives. That said I still think they look kool on cars, specialy HT, not so much on trucks tho..I don't like the safety idea one bit..to think I still think it would FEEL nice on my wife to be 52 buick special, not so much look since ill have to be parked and leave the doors open...not going to hapoend...lol onced choped that is. That said , do as you please..its your truck, time and money.
As far as whether or not the OP should do this, I have found we do a lot of things to our cars that really don't make much sense, so don't let anyone else s opinion keep you from doing what you want to do. My truck project came from the factory with suicide doors. Just tonight I was looking for a way to change them to normal opening, but there is no way to make it happen. (don't want to climb over the fender) Mine had exposed hinges that are shot, so I am converting to heavy piano hinges that are full length like some older semi trucks. This thread did give me an idea for the dead bolts though, I think I can incorporate cables from my trans shifter to dead bolts in the front door post, so when you pull it into drive the bolts engage. I also will be using modern bear claw latches for safety.
A friend in the 80's used to replace his stock Mopar suicide door hinges with hidden suicide door hinges. We borrowed another friends overpriced aftermarket hinge setup and used it to make patterns and build our own hinge jig. After placing the cut pieces and bushing on the jig, we welded the parts together. Next comes the grinding to shape the edges, drilling the mounting holes and making the upper and lower pocket plates. I liked how this worked on his 33/34 Mopars and built my own jig to make my Chopped 37 Chevy a suicide door car. Important lesson learned. What may work on some applications can have different results on other applications. This was true with my 37 Sedan because the doors had a slightly different curvature. Also once you start cutting it may be very hard to go back. I was able to solve my problem by making a change to the design of the door jam. A lot of extra work but worth the effort. Years later I decided to convert to suicide doors on my Custom 37 Chevy Kingcab Pickup. Another lesson learned, the truck doors were narrower than the car doors and the hinges my jig made were too wide. Solved this problem by making a second narrower jig. Dug out the old jigs a couple years ago and made a set for a 33 Plymouth we are currently working on. Happy to say that over the past 20 to 30 years both 37 Chevy's have had suicide doors that still work just fine. It is your build and you should make it the way you want it. Checking what others have done as well as similar options that may be available is a good start. I am sure you will find the right solution.
I like them, I did my model a and also flush fit the doors. I will never do that again. Wasn't the door hinge and striker setup that took long, it was making Jambs from scratch and rounding the door corners. You don't see a lot od 60"s fords with suicide doors, so you probably get a lot of attention.
The Jalopy Journal
