73-87 Door Internal How To

[75stepside]

I spent my weekend assembling my doors. Took me about 6 hours for both doors, and I realized that if I had paid more attention when I took them apart, or would have read up on it, I probably would have taken 1/3 the time. So, here goes for a lil "how to" on door assembly.

Assuming that you just have an empty door skin in front of you...

1. Install the door latch assembly in the rear of the door using the three phillips screws that go in from the rear. Make sure that your door lock rod goes up through the round hole in the top of the door and make sure the rod is connected for the exterior handle.

2. Install the vent window assembly in the front of the door, making sure the seal wraps around the front edge of both the inside and outside of the door. Put in the three phillips screws to secure the vent window frame.

3. Next, put in the felt seal that goes on the vent window frame/track and up the top edge of the door. Put it in until you reach the push tab on the felt at the rear edge of the top of the door. Let the remaining seal dangle.

4. Install the regulator next. Try to have it set so that the arms are at about a 0 degree angle. On the regulator, do not put in the two bolts, just screw the two 1/4" nuts on hand tight. If using power windows, do not worry about the harness just yet - leave it out of the door until last.

5. Next, grab your window. Before putting it near the door, get a little WD40, or the equivalent and lube the channel on the bottom. Facing the exterior of the door, slide the glass down at a slight angle with the rear lifted slightly and work it into the door just so that the glass is inside the door. Now, the tricky part: with one person guiding the glass, and have one person reach in the door and grab the regulator assembly. Take the 1/4" nuts loose and move the regulator toward the front of the door while the other person slides the rear of the glass onto the regulator arm. At the same moment, slide the regulator back and get the front of the glass onto the regulator arm. Before you set the regulator back into position, line the remaining arm up with the channel where it connects to the inside of the door, while at the same time, line the glass up in the front channel. Now, bolt the regulator down to the door.

6. The felt seal that you left hanging, run it in the rear channel of the door.

7. Wind the window up slowly, clear to the top. If using power windows, just put the plug on the motor and leave most of the harness out of the door.

8. With the window up, install the rear window track and put the remainder of the seal in the track.

9. If using power windows, unplug the window motor and route the harness through the cab and into the door. I loosened my window regulator and ran the wires behind the regulator in the channel that exists at the bottom of the door panel. Connect the plugs to the power door lock motor and pwr window motor. Be certain to make sure that all connections are away from the internal moving components.

10. Test your work! Slowly wind the window down, looking inside the door to make sure that nothing binds or disconnects.

*Disclaimer*
I WROTE THIS FOR YOUR PERSONAL USE ONLY. I AM NOT A PROFESSIONAL MECHANIC AND TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANYTHING THAT MAY HAPPEN TO YOUR TRUCK. THIS IS MY PERSONNAL OPINION OF HOW TO ASSEMBLE YOUR DOORS. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!

[bigblock73]

Awesome tech article, I will be referring to this when I get to that stage! Thanks man.

[pedrofixlater]

great advice I am almost to that point on my resto. gutting the doors to spray out the cab. I'm printing for my reference

[75stepside]

any pics of your '75 stepside ???

[Liz]

very nice writeup, I am copyin this over to the FAQ area also.. thanks