Everyone loves a sweet gull wing door on a van and I sure do. Problem is I have barn doors which is not as cool. Anyone reading could probably guess where I'm getting at here haha. Sliding doors on a mid dodge are taller than the barn door equivalent so that would require a crazy amount of custom work and a solution for moving latches around and such. I was wondering if anyone has ever made each barn door into its own gullwing door by just putting some piano hinges on the top and removing the factory hinges. I would think doing this would allow me to keep the latches and the ability to open and close from the inside and outside. Has anyone done this to their van? I figure if I mess up, and it doesn't work right I could always just put the original hinges back.
I was thinking about this same thing today. I don’t think I’d do it to mine, but was thinking that you could probably do exactly what you say. Remove the hinges and use the latches and lock mechanism since they close that way anyways. I wonder if the gullwing kit from matchstick could be split for barn doors or modified (since he makes them anyways) to be beefed up. You could only use one hydraulic lift arm since there is no provision for center supports. I’d bet if the hinge was wider and stronger lift arm, you could do both. Would look super cool if you could get rid of those bulky hinges on the side
I was thinking a hood hinge shaped like the one in the photo or maybe just a general piano hinge would work. Then I would just need a gas shock. The reason I'm drawn to the hood hinge is because they are dirt cheap all over ebay, would be easier to install, and can open up all the way. The only downside I could see is that they will be visible on the inside. Not to sure if I would mind though. I'm really thinking about it...
You can use a piano hinge but the ones that are used for the set up Matchstick sells, he puts an offset in them so they swing out around the drip rail. Those hood hinges look like over kill and may not look great.
You can use a piano hinge but the ones that are used for the set up Matchstick sells, he puts an offset in them so they swing out around the drip rail. Those hood hinges look like over kill and may not look great.
Ahh I did not realize they were off set so I figured the door wouldn't open all the way. Thank you,