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Has the Gullwing slider been beat to death yet?
#479356 July 07th 2011 8:02 pm
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I have been reading, etc about doing this conversion. I would like specifics, ie how it will latch, unlock, body filler piece, etc.. I have ok welding skills and have no problems with having to weld. I did email Matchstick about hinges and never got a reply. The door will be windowless as well. Thanks in advance!

Re: Has the Gullwing slider been beat to death yet?
piscespokerbrat #479444 July 08th 2011 12:05 am
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Apparently not.... (referring to your title)
Latching is up to you. There are several ways to do it.
1. Stock latches.
2. Stock latches, repositioned.
3. Aftermarket latches in the stock locations.
4. Aftermarket latches in a new location.

Unlocking. The easiest way, for me, is to add a door popper/actuator and wire it to your alarm system as an auxiliary option.

No idea what you mean about body filler piece. If you are using your stock door, there is no body filler piece involved.

Hinges. You can use 2 pieces of piano hinge, with a bend on one side. A search here should bring up the thread about the hinges. There are pictures and diagrams to help you there.


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Re: Has the Gullwing slider been beat to death yet?
piscespokerbrat #479480 July 08th 2011 8:57 am
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for the body filler, I THINK he is referring to a piece to use when converting a slider to a gullwing, covering the slider track . . . .


My van : 1989 Ford E-150 Econoline, currently named “WOLF-DEN II”


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Re: Has the Gullwing slider been beat to death yet?
Uncle_Fester #479698 July 09th 2011 1:27 pm
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Aha...
That's a tough one. They don't make anything for that. There are differing sliding mechanisms. Chevy uses an overhead system. I believe Ford has it in the middle. I forget how Dodge did it, to be honest.

You are on your own for what to do about it. On my Chevy, I just left the big cover on there. The other choice was to get an entirely new quarter panel from a barn door van, and I found out those were a different length anyway. The only other way was to fabricate a new top section of the quarter panel and weld it in. Way too much work at the time, so the cover was left on.

If you have a big hole in the side of your van, you can ignore it as if the slider was still there, or you can fill it with sheet metal. I don't know of a "store bought" type of fix for this. My solution would most likely be to weld it up and bodywork it.


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Re: Has the Gullwing slider been beat to death yet?
Ripper #479760 July 09th 2011 6:37 pm
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I know the standard pin & barrel style "piano" hinge is simple and works well for gullwing conversions, but was wondering if anyone has tried either of the two alternatives shown below?

1979 Dodge Tradesman Hood Hinges

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Wide-throw continuous geared hinges ( more info here )

[Linked Image]


Last edited by vandude360; July 09th 2011 6:45 pm.

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Re: Has the Gullwing slider been beat to death yet?
vandude360 #479776 July 09th 2011 8:41 pm
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Originally Posted by vandude360
I know the standard pin & barrel style "piano" hinge is simple and works well for gullwing conversions, but was wondering if anyone has tried either of the two alternatives shown below?

1979 Dodge Tradesman Hood Hinges

[Linked Image]

Wide-throw continuous geared hinges ( more info here )

[Linked Image]



Monte Kuntz has done it very successfully with his van, 2008 Best of the best van from the nats, from Colorado called Heartbreaker , using VW hatchback hinges It took several tries but WOW he did the best "do it your self" hinges of all. Someone here will have pix of his hinges. Gullwing doors are going to be a little much for those little Dodge hood hinges. I do haveone more piece of advice for you about the lifting system I would contact that guy out of Canada and have some 140's or 150's made. Original J&J doors used a 120 lb lift strut on each side but a steel slider stripped out will still need a little more. As for the wide throw continious hinge I think you are not going to gain much for te cost. By the timeyou for the kink in the one side you are right there close to the drip rail and if you start changing stuff ,unless you are prepared to invest alot of money in trial and error you are just trying to reinvent the wheel,so to speak. Monte did so but at great expense and time so If you think you can.... do it. We will all learn from you I do hope you can be successfull. Keep us posted

Last edited by Phoenix; July 09th 2011 9:03 pm.

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Re: Has the Gullwing slider been beat to death yet?
piscespokerbrat #479780 July 09th 2011 9:04 pm
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On a gullwing, the hinge is just the mechanism that guides the movement. So I would think that the strength of the hinge is important but more important is the actuation that really carries the weight. I can't tell from the picture but the hood hinges shown have the right profile, however I cannot tell how strong they are. They may work.

I have never done a gullwing but I did restyle many van sides by filling the slider or changing to barn style doors. When doing that I would just fabricate a piece of metal to cover the slide track or in the case of using a left quarter to fill the door opening I used the factory piece from the donor quarter panel.

Good luck with your project!

Re: Has the Gullwing slider been beat to death yet?
piscespokerbrat #479953 July 10th 2011 3:54 pm
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If I can ever get the hinges delivered to Cloudy, he can start my mid Ford. Those would look great on the rear, but for the side, it's at the passengers head when closed.

Re: Has the Gullwing slider been beat to death yet?
piscespokerbrat #479956 July 10th 2011 4:48 pm
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The hinges need to be strong too, as the shocks put incredible stress on them when closed. I have seen custom doors where the hinges got blown off by the shock pushing against them when the door is closed. I found out why on a flip-forward hood I did on a 2004 GMC Sierra. The hinges really exert a whole lot of pressure in the direction they expand, when closed. I had to try several different mounting positions to get them to stop pushing the hood up in the front when the hood was closed and latched.
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