A. O. Smith door?

[Joe C.]

Re: A. O. Smith door?

Sometimes the hinge box inside the door becomes loose. At first, one would think that this was due to sloppy hinge pins. The hinge box is affixed to the door with bonding adhesive and additional large flat head rivets. The box is installed before the outer door panel goes onto the door frame. so internal repair requires the skin to come off. These large rivets can be changed with 1/4-20 weld studs with flat heads. The weld studs look like rivets.
Scott

Have done that. Fast, strong and undetectable (unless some bonehead sticks a magnet on the freakin' weld stud).

[Philip C.]

Re: A. O. Smith door?

The photo shows a Corvette door with 2 flat head and 2 pop rivets under the dogleg weatherstrip.

If all St.Louis Corvette doors used 4 pop and no flat head rivets under the dogleg weatherstrip,

and all 1963 Corvettes had bodies manufactured in Missouri,

then the door pictured in the photo could not be a 1963 Corvette door.

Joe 63 doors used the large flat head rivets, not the pop rivets SOOO the door could be a 63. Phil 8063

[Joe C.]

Re: A. O. Smith door?

Joe 63 doors used the large flat head rivets, not the pop rivets SOOO the door could be a 63. Phil 8063

THAT IS INTERESTING!!!!!!!!

Why would that be that so, I wonder?

It calls into question how this statement could have been made in post #9:

If it was a 63 door, it certainly would be a St. Louis door, but in this case, yes, it is an AOS.

If that door was covered in primer, would Wayne have been able to make the determination?

[Jim D.]

Re: A. O. Smith door?

All the internal metal in an AO Smith door is primed in the greenish shade of primer verses the metal in St. Louis doors which are in black primer. This also includes the 2 removable access panels covered by the door panel.
Page Campbell

I have an AO Smith 65 coupe. The door guts are green but the access panels on both doors are black and were never at any time green.

Jim

[Wayne W.]

Re: A. O. Smith door?

Joe 63 doors used the large flat head rivets, not the pop rivets SOOO the door could be a 63. Phil 8063

Phylip, Yes, some, maybe all 63 doors used the large head rivets. I dont know when the change occured. So, you are technically correct on that account. But, it would have to be a later `63, as it has the later style auxiliary dog leg w/s. When it comes to rivet usage, it has always interested me why they used what they did. Those rivets were right there and used for other things. Why did they change their construction method, and was it totally inclusive? I dont know, but it tends to hold for 64 and later at least that St. Louis bodies had pop rivets in that location.


63 Door, ~ serial # 500


Typical AOS


Typical St. Louis

[Joe R.]

Re: A. O. Smith door?

Nice Pics Wayne. Can you explain this pic.

Notice the weatherstrip! Hint Hint!

JR

[Wayne W.]

Re: A. O. Smith door?

Thats 63 early production. Thats what I mentioned in the other post. Some early 63s also didnt have the holes drilled for the buttons. #356 had holes on one door and not on the other.

[Joe C.]

Re: A. O. Smith door?

Joe 63 doors used the large flat head rivets, not the pop rivets SOOO the door could be a 63. Phil 8063

Phil,
The door pictured in the first photo could not have been a 1963 door from the rivet aspect. Look at Joe Ray's photo in post #21 and you'll notice that the 1963 door uses flat head rivets in ALL 4 locations adjacent to the dogleg weatherstrip, not simply the middle 2, as was used with later AO Smith doors. Of course, St.Louis doors use pop rivets at all 4 locations adjacent to the dogleg weatherstrip. So, there are three configuration options here, not 2. Only one question remains: are "late" production '63 doors different in the rivet configuration from early 1963 doors?.

Further, the door pictured in the first photo could not be a 1963 door by virtue of its gray composite.