Trying some open'n doors

[Plastic_Passion]

First time I've done this. I'm thinking pro mod build.... it's originally a 68 z28 but I'll be making it a 67.

[PARTSMARTY]

Looks cool !!!

[dino246gt]

'67 have vent windows, '68 did not, why make it a '67? That's a lot more work for an open door project. I'd keep it '68 myself. You must have a reason?

[Slotto]

You've concurred the first step. Nice clean opening.
Now the fun begins

[Plastic_Passion]

4 hours ago, dino246gt said:

'67 have vent windows, '68 did not, why make it a '67? That's a lot more work for an open door project. I'd keep it '68 myself. You must have a reason?

Lol I am aware of the vent window. The 68 also didn' have a marker light in the front and had rectangle parking lights in the grill... I have a 68.... correction.... two 68's and a 69... but I have parts for a 67. So since I have a 68 on my shelf, and a 69 on it's way there.... why not go idea bin digging and start kit bashing and testing things out on a car that realistically doesn't matter to me if it gets messed up... if it doesnt work out with the vent window I'll just throw the other 68 grill in it and leave the marker light on the front fender and keep it a 68. I also have a 70 1/2 camaro that I'll be building when I pick up the pe kit for it. Amongst other goodies.

Edited January 29, 2018 by Plastic_Passion

[Plastic_Passion]

13 hours ago, PARTSMARTY said:

Looks cool !!!

Thanks Marty! We'll see how it turns out. I keep trying to do one more technicality with every new model I'm building.... problem is.... I keep starting some ideas and shelving them. But progress is progress and I have plenty of time.

[Plastic_Passion]

1 hour ago, Slotto said:

You've concurred the first step. Nice clean opening.
Now the fun begins

Thanks Steve! I'm excited to try it out. I really want to cut the trunk open too but it's pretty thick in that rear panel. 

[Plastic_Passion]

Well.... it appears the window vent might not be the worst nightmare. However.... this interior tub might be.... pretty sure this tub is about 6 scale inches too short in the door panels.

[Bennyg]

Will be watching. Looks good so far.

Ben

[Greg Rogers]

Wow, bummer about the interior. Would you be able to move the whole interior back in the body, or maybe just the rear seat? I am a novice, I know I couldn't do it! It seems funny that the manufacturer would make such a disparity. Though maybe after the model was built as instructed maybe you wouldn't see it. But it seems like you would looking thru the side windows. Good luck. 

[Psychographic]

The tub is not too narrow, you need to build the door sills and jambs to reach it. You will also need to build the door edges also. Look at a real car and you will see what I mean.

Edited January 30, 2018 by Psychographic

[Slotto]

18 hours ago, Plastic_Passion said:

Thanks Steve! I'm excited to try it out. I really want to cut the trunk open too but it's pretty thick in that rear panel. 

You can do it. The first time that I open the doors it was on a 56 Chevy. I also opened the trunk. It's a learning experience and the more you do it, the easier it gets the next time. I'm on my 4th build where I've opened doors. This time it's suicide doors. If you run into trouble, there's plenty of people here that can help. One trick is to pay attention how you attach the hinge. This will determine if the door opens in or out of the jamb. Good luck, I'll be following along.

[Psychographic]

If I might add a little tip I've learned,  don't cut your door, hood , trunk, or whatever all  the way through before making you hinge.  What I do is cut about 90% of the panel leaving a few little sections connected. I then make and mount my hinge, this way the panel is already aligned.  Then just cut the little but that is still connected. The hinge cannot have any binding, or when you cut the panel the rest of the way through it will not align properly.

[cobraman]

Looking good. I have never tried to do this, I have enough trouble with the kits that feature opening doors.

[GerN]

If the tub really is too short, front to back, I'd divide the tub at the front of the back seat.  This would minimize the necessary work.  Also, I think it may be less than 6 scale inches short.

[dino246gt]

I don't think the interior tub is too short, well maybe a bit, but not much, the real car doors open to reveal a bit of the rear inside trim like what you see in your picture. Google it and see, but what you've done so far looks great! Here's a resin Falcon body I'm doing, although it's not quite as noticeable on cheap early cars, you can see the outer door skin goes further back than the interior rear side panel.

[Plastic_Passion]

On 1/30/2018 at 4:28 AM, Bennyg said:

Will be watching. Looks good so far.

Ben

Thanks Ben! ? 

[Plastic_Passion]

On 1/30/2018 at 8:20 AM, Greg Rogers said:

Wow, bummer about the interior. Would you be able to move the whole interior back in the body, or maybe just the rear seat? I am a novice, I know I couldn't do it! It seems funny that the manufacturer would make such a disparity. Though maybe after the model was built as instructed maybe you wouldn't see it. But it seems like you would looking thru the side windows. Good luck. 

This is the first open door project I'm trying. I figured wth? Why not. I know how you feel when you say "I know I couldn't do it!" I used to say that myself. Before I joined this site I used to wonder the forums for hours in admiration of what can be done. The older I get the more I realize it's not about completing them anymore. It' about building the car I would buy. You'l get better and better. It' funny to me to dig in the idea bin/parts bin and find things I used to think looked so awesome and think about where I am now vs where I will be. A lot because of this site and because of the great advice of other such as has been posted so far on just this page alone. Keep at it and you'l surprise yourself. I do every night I build.

[Tom Geiger]

Kit designers often had no provision for people who would decide to open doors.  You really need to measure out the whole thing to see if it's viable on a specific kit.  As you mentioned, the length of the interior door panel might not match.  Some cars have a shallow interior that is shorter than the door bottom... think Johans.  You really need to measure everything before you cut!

The worst trunk I opened was on the Revell '59 Chevy. The plastic on the back was sooo thick!  I got through it with a small drill bit, in my battery powered drill.  Of course when Revell came out with the 1960 version of that kit,  THEY opened the trunk for you!

[Plastic_Passion]

On 1/30/2018 at 8:32 AM, Psychographic said:

The tub is not too narrow, you need to build the door sills and jambs to reach it. You will also need to build the door edges also. Look at a real car and you will see what I mean.

I looked @ a bunch of pics of 1:1 cars as I usually do. Lots and lots of pics saved and filed for each specific model. The tub is just a touch too short . It's spot on in the front of the door jamb but the back is just a tad too short. If I slide the tub back it'l work but then the rear deck behind the seats is a little off. Not really enough to notice. However... it'll be noticeble up front. I think I need to cut the floor and extend it just a bit.

[Plastic_Passion]

On 1/30/2018 at 12:35 PM, Psychographic said:

If I might add a little tip I've learned,  don't cut your door, hood , trunk, or whatever all  the way through before making you hinge.  What I do is cut about 90% of the panel leaving a few little sections connected. I then make and mount my hinge, this way the panel is already aligned.  Then just cut the little but that is still connected. The hinge cannot have any binding, or when you cut the panel the rest of the way through it will not align properly.

This is definitely a priceless tip. Great trick of the trade to have up your sleeve. Thank you for sharing this!!!

[Tom Geiger]

4 minutes ago, Plastic_Passion said:

The older I get the more I realize it's not about completing them anymore. It' about building the car I would buy. You'l get better and better. 

The right attitude.  I learned a lot of techniques on models I never finished!   They were stepping stones to the next model and worth the work for the lessons learned.

I have a shelf of my unfinished projects that I keep handy. Every so often I pull out an old project that stumped me back then, and now easily see the answer!  That's your personal growth!  And I complete them using skills I have earned since I put them aside! 

[Plastic_Passion]

On 1/31/2018 at 11:01 AM, dino246gt said:

I don't think the interior tub is too short, well maybe a bit, but not much, the real car doors open to reveal a bit of the rear inside trim like what you see in your picture. Google it and see, but what you've done so far looks great! Here's a resin Falcon body I'm doing, although it's not quite as noticeable on cheap early cars, you can see the outer door skin goes further back than the interior rear side panel.

I know your right about the trim. This is just a touch too far forward. I'll post a comparo pic. By the way that looks great!!!! I love the way you'e displayed this.

[Plastic_Passion]

On 1/30/2018 at 2:25 PM, GerN said:

If the tub really is too short, front to back, I'd divide the tub at the front of the back seat.  This would minimize the necessary work.  Also, I think it may be less than 6 scale inches short.

This is what I was ultimately thinking as well. And you might be right it may not be 6 scale inches but it's gotta be close. Look at the door handle(Which also might not be scale correct) comparative to the extra plastic.

[Plastic_Passion]

7 minutes ago, Tom Geiger said:

Kit designers often had no provision for people who would decide to open doors.  You really need to measure out the whole thing to see if it's viable on a specific kit.  As you mentioned, the length of the interior door panel might not match.  Some cars have a shallow interior that is shorter than the door bottom... think Johans.  You really need to measure everything before you cut!

The worst trunk I opened was on the Revell '59 Chevy. The plastic on the back was sooo thick!  I got through it with a small drill bit, in my battery powered drill.  Of course when Revell came out with the 1960 version of that kit,  THEY opened the trunk for you!

Lol doesn' that figure. But no you're right. They don't provision a kit to work like that. Unless it' a kit option. Such as the revell 05 z06 vette that's molded as a hard top but comes with a spare roof so you can cut the hard top off and make it a Targa. Early day ertl/amt kits.... yeah... good luck.... I agree with you about measuring... lessened learned ?. Funny you mention the floor because this one is a little high too. I'l make it work tho.