Prewar Door Set needed in Midwest

[SwickT80]

Looking for a set of near ready to hang and go prewar doors and glass for a project. Prefer to travel for viewing and pickup in midwest - Il, Ky, In, Mi, Oh areas.
-Jeff

[3Dreaming]

Re: Prewar Door Set needed in Midwest

If I was going to go all glass I would make my own frames out of 1/2" square steel or maybe 3/4" aluminum tubing. Use the Plexiglass for the flange. You will get a better fit to the airplane that way.

[Ragwing nut]

Re: Prewar Door Set needed in Midwest

I may have a set, but maybe a bit far to drive

[SwickT80]

Re: Prewar Door Set needed in Midwest

I'm wanting to maintain a stock door look for now. Let me know if you find a set, take some pictures and PM me.

[Hank Jarrett]

Re: Prewar Door Set needed in Midwest

I have doors but they need repair and are WAY far away in SE Virginia.

Hank

[SwickT80]

Re: Prewar Door Set needed in Midwest

Are there any major differences between pre and post? Will you be driving to Osh Kosh by any chance?

[Hank Jarrett]

Re: Prewar Door Set needed in Midwest

There are three basic types of doors. Wood, tube and sheet metal. They DO NOT interchange. There are also two slightly different tube doors that DO interchange.

[SwickT80]

Re: Prewar Door Set needed in Midwest

My fuselage is new and made of chromoly (owner passed away and lack direction of build). What are the basic dimensions for tube and sheet metal?

[Ragwing nut]

Re: Prewar Door Set needed in Midwest

There are three basic types of doors. Wood, tube and sheet metal. They DO NOT interchange. There are also two slightly different tube doors that DO interchange.

actually there is 5. model a doors are aluminum and there is a difference in postwar doors depending on if it has a metal door frame or wood door frame.

[Hank Jarrett]

Re: Prewar Door Set needed in Midwest

My fuselage is new and made of chromoly (owner passed away and lack direction of build). What are the basic dimensions for tube and sheet metal?

If you have a "new" fuselage I am pretty sure it is supposed to get the sheet metal doors. The wood and tube doors also went mostly on pre war planes and almost all of them were 1010 steel, not Chrome Molly. If you want aluminum doors I have stacks of them for the taking. Problem is they are SO EXPENSIVE to ship. If you are coming to SE Virginia you can have the pick of the pile for free. Indiana isn't THAT far from Sunny Virginia Beach and there is a GREAT flying Military Museum here while the family is working on their sun burn at the beach.

Hank

I have the drawings for the wood doors and some tube ones that need a lot of repair but if you plan to build a wood door you better be a master wood worker. They were REALLY complex and need careful fitting. I had to use the fuselage as a fixture to rebuild my doors so they would fit. Your fuselage would probably be needed to weld up and repair the tube ones too (clean up the tubes and clamp the door to the fuselage to tack the repair parts in). Well fit doors really make flying much nicer as door leaks are a MAJOR source of noise and cold blasts of air.

[SwickT80]

Re: Prewar Door Set needed in Midwest

Attached is a photo of the fuselage. Built from factory drawings and as you can see, Swick and Cole modifications are included. Let me know if you need dimensions.
-Jeff

[mike lutz]

Re: Prewar Door Set needed in Midwest

I would say you need pre-war doors.