Vannin' Home Forums General Discussion Paint and Bodywork Mark's Van (maples01)

Got one, was put in a year ago, it's the seat that I'm gonna have to work with, has to slide back over a foot then turn. Sad that the better lift is in the 73, I've near worn out the one in my 99, which has taught me beware used ones, not all can be repaired, without spending more than what they're worth.

Well, I ended up using something very similar to Cloudy's hinge photos in a prior post in this thread. The only real difference is they are maybe slightly heavier duty, have bushings and the holes on the small end are centered not staggard [in case you wanted to use bolts that are centered]. Just cut off part of the smaller end at the top of the second row of holes and bend the other end about 60 degrees about 1/4" from the hinge barrel upwards and cut anything you don't need from the rest. I actually bent mine around L shaped to sit against the top of the door lip too.

Fabricated very much the same as the J&J hinges only a much heavier duty hinge with a non removable pin and bushings for smoother, quiter operation.

Sorry, I intended to show some video but my video wasn't working for some reason and I wasn't in the mood to waste time trying to figure it out or waiting until my wife got home. I came up with an ingenious way of bending the hinges with 2 pieces of 4X4, 2 screws and a hammer

Like Cloudy's, the hinge barrel is exposed at the drip rail. I made mine reversed where the small hinge side laps over the outside door top instead. I intended on using some carriage bolts through the top of the door lip but after aligning and drilling the holes, I decided to weld instead [not done yet]. So, I have the hinges fabricated and bolted/screwed up into the roof area and the door in place locked by the factory set up but I need to fine tune the latching system a bit.

Removing the old slider crap was the worst part IMO.

My 160lb struts from eBay should be here this week.

Under $50 [if you don't count a few messed up hinges LOL] for a gullwing

Or plexiglass for lighter weight. I know they're still "winders" but for cost reasons [body work], it would get the gullwing done for now without chancing it being too heavy or the glass breaking.

I would love to put an actuator on it, may look into something to add a power assist option to aid the hydraulic rams.

How about a gull for the rear. LoL

UP DATE ON THE SEAT, got it half done.
Oh, had to use my cell phone to make this video.
Sorry for the focus.

^^ Looks like a great design & fabrication job so far! ^^

Can't wait to get back behind the wheel of my mid, I've missed it a lot, glad Cloudy got something figured out, I couldn't figure it out, no way that would be economical. Looks pretty wicked, a disabled friend of mine is pretty interested in the workings too.

All ya need is a little spring to assist them struts! They "pop" rite open!