Door Rebuild Sequence

[Tomnistuff]

Hello All,

Does there exist an itemized door rebuild sequence that covers the reassembly of the entire door?  Here's my problem - my problem, not the door's problem.  My car restoration is almost completely finished and sitting on my four-post hoist in my garage.  There's maybe a week of real work to do to get it on the road, but I'm stuck on one project that I can't bring myself to start - the reassembly of the doors.  For months, the doors have been mounted and adjusted but they are sitting on the car completely empty.  No handles, strikers, seals, cat's whiskers, windows, lifting mechanisms - nothing.  During my restoration, particularly my one-man reassembly of the car after the body work, paint work and Metric engine rebuild was done, I had done and redone and redone so many mini-projects that I have become paranoid about assembling things out of order and having to disassemble and start over.

I've read the TM several times.  It is an excellent manual and each mini-project is extremely well described.  I've "choked" on the lack of a general order for the door assembly.  I can find details of "how" to install things but don't know "when" to install things relative to the other things.

Has anyone written a primer on, "How I rebuilt my door from start to finish."

If I assembled the cat's whiskers, for example, and found that I had cut them too short, I would probably shoot myself.  My paranoia is almost that bad.  I know that my basic problem is that I'm getting too old to have started this restoration project in the first place, but it's too late to fix that problem.

Tom Kizer

[WRe]

Hi,
you can use this in reverse order: https://www.pagodentreff.de/diskussionsforum/pages/tuerauseinanderbauen/.
...WRe

[Tomnistuff]

Thanks WRe,
Translating it was a task, but I already had an account at Pagodentreff, so I downloaded it, used Google Translate and Word to recreate the document. Had it been a Peace Treaty, the result might have started WWIII, since the translation didn't always make sense, but by reading it with an open mind and rereading the several applicable parts of the Technical Manual, things started falling into place.  With each of the available mini-procedures providing individual pieces of the total assembly sequence, the "whole" started to replace the "hole" in my understanding.
I think now that I know where to start and how not to screw it up.
Unless I've done something wrong elsewhere, the car should be complete and roadworthy in a couple of weeks - hopefully in time for re-licensing the first of May.
Thanks again.
Tom Kizer

[doitwright]

Tom,

How do you feel about sharing your edited document since many of us do not have a pagodentreffen account. Perhaps some of our German fluent members can fill in the blanks and we can save it on the site. I know I took photos as I disassembled my doors and I am now at the point where I can start to reassemble them. I need to decide what to do about some fine scratches in my door glass.

[dirkbalter]

Frank,
If Tom sends me what he's go, I would be I am happy to fill in the blanks and publish.

[Tomnistuff]

Hi Frank,

I've got a bit of a problem with it, and also what I think is a legitimate (literally) solution.  Since my doors are stripped to nothing except hinges and door checks and mounted and aligned on the car, and the Google translation of the Pagodentreff procedure is almost illegible, I propose to assemble one of my doors while documenting the process start to finish with photos.  I will make that available to the group.  There are several excellent mini-project procedures for the doors and windows in the TM, but not a start-to-finish door assembly procedure.

Frankly, I don't want to infringe anyone's copyright, and I will refer to partial procedures already in the TM at the appropriate place in my procedure rather than to repeat them. 

No one need concern themselves with copyrights on anything I write.  Mine can be added to the other procedures as desired.

Does anyone have a problem with what I suggest?

Tom Kizer

[doitwright]

Tom,

I look forward to seeing what you come up with. I can share a google link to my door photos if you are interested.

[Tomnistuff]

Hi Frank,
I would greatly appreciate the Google link to your door photos.  Although I took several, I'm sure your photos will help me get through the procedure.
Tom Kizer

[doitwright]

Here is a link to photos I took while disassembling my doors.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/coK2iMrI3TVLN3cQ2

This brings to mind about how people document and catalog everything that gets taken apart on the car. I am certain there are going to be situations where I thought I had everything cataloged and will then be trying to figure out what something is or how it goes back together.

[dirkbalter]

With the permission of the author, I translated the write up of the door disassembly for the non-German speaking members. I think there is quite a bit of information in it, that may be use or helpful if you are doing it for the first time. I have the task of reassembling the doors ahead of me as well and was looking thru it.
Credit should go to Detlef H. from the German pagoda forum.   
 

Dirk

[Benz Dr.]

With the permission of the author, I translated the write up of the door disassembly for the non-German speaking members. I think there is quite a bit of information in it, that may be use or helpful if you are doing it for the first time. I have the task of reassembling the doors ahead of me as well and was looking thru it.
Credit should go to Detlef H. from the German pagoda forum.   
 

Dirk

I applaud your decision to seek permission first. Most car guys are happy to share after they're asked.  Good work!

[Tomnistuff]

It has been a while since I posted, even though I started the thread.  I'm still following it, and am back to stay for a while now that my interruption for income taxes is finished and my planning, coordination and joint execution of a month-long trip to Portugal for eight family members in three phases is done.  Frankly, those interruptions of the door reassembly project were a good excuse not to do anything because I was really intimidated by the job.  Vacation was great and my energy level has mostly returned.

I really appreciate the posts you all have made and particularly want to thank Dirk and WRe for the translations and Doitwright for the photos.  I am studying them to try to understand the entire task before I start.  I'm also trying to write the "Reassembly Version" of the Disassembly Instructions.

Hey Dirk, what does, "The window scissor should be driven in as far as possible (on a Block)" mean?  I just can't visualize that action.

Also, am I correct that the Front Upper Door Seal, since it is not glued to the door, does not interfere with the front Window Run and Water Deflector Rail installation.  I can just remove a few screws holding the Front Upper Door Seal Retainer Rail and get access to the front Window Run Stud and Nuts behind the Rubber Plug.  Is that right?  That will permit me to install and adjust the Door Seal and Door Latch Hardware before starting on the Window Hardware installation.

I mention the above only because I am paranoid about doing the reassembly in the wrong order and having to redo it several times.

Is anything I've said wrong?

Thanks for the help so far.

Tom Kizer

[dirkbalter]

Hey Tom.

I red the German version of the instructions again and I am coming to the conclusion that I don’t understand it either. I am assuming it means to put the doors itself on blocks.
Your thread caught my interest because my doors are completely disassembled as well. Since I am benefitting quite a bit from the posts and instructions found on our forum, I figured that by translating the instruction, I can pay back a little bit.
That being said, I cannot (yet) answer your other questions. I am sure some of the guys that have done it will jump in.

Dirk         

[Tomnistuff]

Dirk, I just had a thought.  Maybe it means that, since the window is out, the scissors portion should be driven deeper into the door as far as possible to minimize the size of the scissors mechanism to make it easier to remove once unbolted.  It seems the instructions intend for the spring to be removed before taking out the scissors parts.  On mine, I wrapped the entire scissors mechanism  with a large nylon tie-wrap so it would not expand (lift) before removing it with the spring still connected - dangerous, trust me.

Any opinion?

Tom Kizer

[dirkbalter]

You are probably right. I was going to say in my earlier post, I will check with the author and will keep you posted.
Dirk

[Pawel66]

Please allow me to throw 2 cents to this, as I am working on it now as well to fit in new glass.

The "raw egg" rubber holders for closing rods, 8 on picture, - I just bought 6 of them 2 months ago from Mercedes (A1219870237). It says NLA, but I ordered them and they came (!), so you may want to try if need be.
They are also available from SLS, but I think MB may be less expensive, especially with shipment - better check.

The rubber spacer bushings that go to holes in the glass - I bought 4 on Wednesday from Mercedes (A0009870842) for my new glass. Also available in SLS.

On a Block - maybe it means all the way down to the hard bottom stop of the lifting mechanism (the stops on the glass rails are already removed).