Filling in hole in door -- 73 Challenger

[bobs73challenger]

Hi everyone,

Sorry if this is a stupid question. 

I'm going to look at some doors soon.  They're original and priced well.  As far as I can tell, the doors had some trim on them at some point and don't anymore.  As such, there are holes across the entire door. 

I'm sure I'm doing a poor job of explaining it, but the pictures should make my question a lot clearer.

Anyway, I'm not going to be installing door trim.  What's the best way to fill these holes?  I'm getting a MIG welder soon, so if it's pretty straightforward, this could make a good project to get me acquainted with a MIG.

One of these doors looks to have rust in the hinge area, but I'm not sure if its rust or just needs to be cleaned up.  I'm calling the seller tonight to find out more. 

My current doors have a nasty hole and rot in the bottom.  These doors seem rust free and in much better shape than what I have for far less than what new doors would cost. 

Would repairing the trim holes in these doors be easier than installing a new skin on my existing doors?

Does anything else jump out at you about the look of these doors?  It's about a 3 hour ride for me to see them, so any input you can give is greatly appreciated. 

Thank you for your help!

Bob

[Edison1970]

That door looks to be in good shape.  You can fill those holes with the mig.  Just take your time so you don't warp the steel. 

[shawge]

My car had the same trim holes from fender to quarter.  I filled them in with a MIG and used a copper backing to keep burning through at a minimum.

[Street_Challenged73]

It also looks like there is a tear in the body line in that last photo.  Provided the price is right & you have the tools, those shouldn't be too bad to fix up & fill in those trim holes.

[torredcuda]

It will take some work to mig all the holes up, grind and fill but they can be fixed. I wouldn`t attempt it as a first welding project as filling holes take some practice to do without blowing the holes bigger or warping the metal- practice a lot first!. Door skins are actually pretty easy but it depends on how rusty the shell is if it`s worth it or not on your doors.

[johns cuda shop]

I would sand each hole area down till there is shinny clean metal. Taking a small round file I would clean out the paint and crud , make sure you have a good ground for your machine. Using a copper backer (like a piece of flattened copper pipe or something) I would put behind the holes. Then would make sure to use .030 wire (tends to fill the holes faster). And lastly I would start in the middle and do the first hole letting it cool down before doing the next, making sure you cut the wire at the tip each time you weld. This way there isnt a huge blop of metal at the end of the wire . This will keep the heat down to keep it from warping.

[bobs73challenger]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the great advice!  I think I'm going to jump on them.  He's looking for $300 for the pair and including a trunk lid that is probably better than the one I currently have.  I may or may not end up using the trunk lid. 

I think $300 is fair, considering the price of brand new door shells is pretty high.  Any opinions? 

Again, these are way better than the doors I currently have.  If I'm going to have to work on doors, they might as well be solid doors!