Early and Late door swap

[E Sully]

I have a rust pocket on my passenger door, lower front end. Internally it looks good. I see 2 options. New door skin, or swap with another rust free later door.
How would a 1980 930 door work? Would the mounting points for my 1973 arm rest and door pockets have the proper mounting points? Any help would be appreciated.

[Bobboloo]

The doors are interchangeable. The later door has a safety beam which your door doesn't. It's a slightly heavier door but still interchangeable.

If it were me I would try and save your early door since it is correct and original to the car.

Also even though parts are interchangeable doesn't mean they will fit correctly. These cars were hand made and the guys that fit the panels were artists. Some were good artists and some were not so good. Sometimes when you switch a panel or door you get lucky and it fits. Other times you have to really struggle to make it look right.

Whatever you decide, leave the hinges on the chassis and pull the door pins. That way you have the original mounting point if you stay with the original door and if fitting a new door it's also a good starting point.

One more thing. When fitting a door you should remove the latch from the latch panel so that it doesn't interfere with alignment. Once aligned then you can install the latch.

[Fishcop]

They're pretty close. I have a SC door on my '69. Door stays are different (and not interchangeable) due to the bolt spacings, mirror holes are different and need welding up.

[Zeke]

I have the utmost respect for Bobby and his expert craftsmanship. However, I might take a different approach to the hinge thing. For one, you will probably have to monkey around with the shims at the A pillar, and the pins should all be the same size, but they are hand reamed, so a good hinge (no slop) should be considered a unit.

Also, the door side of the hinges may not be spaced exactly the same. In essence, you will be starting over with another door and may have to adjust the front fender to finish the job. You hang the door and align it with the latch end first as there is no adjusting the rear quarter panel. You then bring the front fender into alignment with the front of the door in a give and take process.

In some cases you might have to weld a bit on the lower rear skin radius to match the sill. Or grind off, but it's only 1mm thick folded over. So don't grind much if any at all.

[E Sully]

I will keep the original door and store it for the future, like every other original part I have removed. A fellow Pelican is selling a rust free door at a good price compared to the cost of the door skin. Finances the last couple years, and for the next few will be rough. Down the road, I figure I can always sell the door for close to what I am paying, then restore the original.
Thanks for the advice.