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Technical 56 Ford 4 to 2 door conversion

Discussion in 'Traditional Customs' started by judgeyoung, Dec 27, 2016.

  1. judgeyoung
    Joined: May 21, 2010
    Posts: 143

    judgeyoung
    Member

    I have searched for days in the forums for conversion info specific to the 56 ford, but have found none. I have all the other great builds and instructions, but have some specific questions for the fords. Can anyone help me find the info, or has anyone else done the conversion on a Fairlane.

    I'd like to know if the 4 doors can be spliced together like the chevy, or if I need to find the 2-door sedan doors? What about trim. Can the 4 door stainless be modified and used, or do I need to find 2 door trim or just remove it all? What about the Jambs: is there any difference in 2 and 4 doors? Best practices for rear side glass treatment?

    Anyone have any ideas?

    Thanks!
     
  2. Haven't done the conversion, but stretching the doors is doable but you have to use the 4-dr jambs. The 2-dr jambs don't have that curve at the bottom, they drop straight down, so you can't use 2-dr doors with the 4-dr jambs unless you mod the jambs. So finding a 2-dr donor will be the easiest way to do this. And you can use a '55 Ford, or a 55'-56 Merc 2-dr donor for the doors, jambs, and quarter windows. Same goes for the stainless trim, trying to modify the 4-dr stuff to fit will prove to be difficult.
     
    morac41 likes this.

  3. morac41
    Joined: Jul 23, 2011
    Posts: 531

    morac41
    Member

    Hi ..You are taking on a mammoth job here..when you could probally find a 2 door donor body near where you live.......I have done this job several times over the years only because there are no 2 door body's here in Australia....my last one was 49 Cadillac fleetwood ..(see my albums) and current is a 41 Cadillac series 62 sedan to a 2 door convertible ......Crazy Steve has good information you should take on board......
     
    atomicglowman likes this.
  4. Squablow
    Joined: Apr 26, 2005
    Posts: 17,390

    Squablow
    Member

    Here's my '60 Plymouth 2 door conversion, going all the way back to 2005 for this one.

    http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/tech-make-a-4-door-into-a-2-door.78120/

    Here's another Mopar, this time a Chrysler that never actually produced a 2 door sedan like this.

    http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/undergoing-body-reassignment-surgery.608094/

    Here's a '56 Chevy I did for my Dad

    http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/56-chevy-2-door-conversion-build-thread.753008/

    Getting started on another '56 Chevy for a friend of mine this winter. A donor car is the way to go. I could do another '60 Plymouth in a weekend if I had the right pieces ready to go. A few hundred bucks for a donor car that you can cut apart yourself would shave off at least 100 hours from the process and give you a finished product where all factory 2 door pieces fit like stock.

    Post pics as you go, looking forward to seeing another one done.
     
  5. Rusty O'Toole
    Joined: Sep 17, 2006
    Posts: 9,657

    Rusty O'Toole
    Member

    Maybe I am simple in the head but what is the matter with buying a 2 door car? You could sell your 4 door and all it would cost is the difference in price. Save a lot of work and butchery too. It's not like 2 door 56 Fords are that rare or expensive.
     
    Kustomline54 likes this.
  6. judgeyoung
    Joined: May 21, 2010
    Posts: 143

    judgeyoung
    Member

    Thanks, all, for your help. I would still like to see the details of a 55-56 Ford. I was wondering what the difference in the door jamb is, and that makes perfect sense. The only reason to do this project, of course, is that I have a decent 4 door for free, and 2 doors are well more than twice the price. My labor is easier to get than cash and my wife likes me to NOT get another car!
    BTW, does anyone have a spare set of cheap 4 door front doors around West/north Central Texas?
     
  7. chrisntx
    Joined: Jan 20, 2006
    Posts: 1,799

    chrisntx
    Member
    from Texas .

    Great thread!
     
  8. Hmmm... 2 times free is still free... LOL. Remember, you don't need the whole car. A wrecked or rusted out shell could work, do some looking before tackling the 'hard way'.
     
    GasserTodd likes this.
  9. Squablow
    Joined: Apr 26, 2005
    Posts: 17,390

    Squablow
    Member

    If you're already looking for an extra set of doors, you'll be better off starting with 2 door sedan doors. If the door posts turn out to be different, just cut the inner door section off of your old 4 door doors and weld them into the 2 door sedan doors, then you've got the length right and don't have any seams in the skin, plus stock garnish and regulators will fit. Cut up the old back doors to fill in the gap and you're made.
     
  10. 57JoeFoMoPar
    Joined: Sep 14, 2004
    Posts: 6,138

    57JoeFoMoPar
    Member

    That's a wild conversion. Do you have some more details about how you pulled that one off? I'd always imagined the Ford would be a tricky conversion because of the circular tail light body line that fades out.
     
  11. Custom Crown
    Joined: Jan 19, 2022
    Posts: 6

    Custom Crown

    follow me on instagram its more easy for me than put picture here hahaha

    @The_customcrown
     
  12. Squablow
    Joined: Apr 26, 2005
    Posts: 17,390

    Squablow
    Member

    The 2 door conversion stuff is cool and we like to see that here, but keep the chassis swap to yourself. The rule around here as far as using late model parts is don't ask/don't tell. That doesn't mean we don't like the build, just that those things are forbidden to be posted on the board.

    I'm curious to know more about your 2 door conversion, like did you measure stock front doors, or just pick a length that you liked? Did you cut the rear door jamb area out of the car before using the rear skins, or did you leave it in there, to act as part of the wheel house? How are you attaching what used to be the rear door top to the roof? These are all details that might help someone else in the future attempt the conversion you did.
     
  13. Custom Crown
    Joined: Jan 19, 2022
    Posts: 6

    Custom Crown

    Sorry idk that from here.... in the beginning i have find a real 2 door meteor...but tooooo much rusty..so i take the real mesurement from the door ! i back the b-pillar, and i take the inside of the door for have a up and down rear windows
     
  14. Custom Crown
    Joined: Jan 19, 2022
    Posts: 6

    Custom Crown

  15. Custom Crown
    Joined: Jan 19, 2022
    Posts: 6

    Custom Crown

    @The_customcrown for see the built on instagram! the only ford 55 2 doors conversion you will be able to see on internet :)
     
    Last edited: Jan 19, 2022
  16. Slopok
    Joined: Jan 30, 2012
    Posts: 2,919

    Slopok
    Member

    Most of us older guys on here don't do Instagram or Facebook!
     
    COCONUTS likes this.
  17. Custom Crown
    Joined: Jan 19, 2022
    Posts: 6

    Custom Crown

    sorry, i cannot post picture of the car on this website...
     
  18. Squablow
    Joined: Apr 26, 2005
    Posts: 17,390

    Squablow
    Member

    No problem, the picture you posted above is great, shows what it takes to do your conversion and doesn't show any of the modern bits. Were you able to make the back door window regulators work on the new quarter windows? That seems to be the most difficult part of doing a 55-57 Chevy that way, they generally use fixed glass.

    I've done several cars as 4 door to 2 door conversions, but always using donor car parts. Nothing wrong with the way you're doing it though, sometimes that's all that is available to you, or all that's in the budget at least. The work looks good, looks very similar to the way it's done using donor parts.

    20190729_223435.jpg
    20200714_190612.jpg
    Here's a Chevy I did. I had the 2 door sedan doors and jambs to use, but as you can see, the process is very much the same. Less seams with the donor, but no reason you can't do it and have a nice turnout just the way you've done it here.
     
  19. Custom Crown
    Joined: Jan 19, 2022
    Posts: 6

    Custom Crown

    I hope its enough for you to see what i have do haha if you want more picture just asking, i will remove the whe haha 20211010_230334.jpg
     
    Squablow likes this.

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