Homemade suicide door how-to...

ok so make sure you leave your door on the hinges until i say remove them!... lol

now its time to get a tape measure and a level

now you want the hinges spaced out about 12 inches from top of hinge to bottom of hinge roughly.... If anyone wants i can get my exact measurments i used, but it should look like this, any thing that is close to this will work.

ok i dont have a pic of this, but i welded a nut onto the back of the hinges so that it would make things easier to mount. i also chose to mount the hinges from behind for a somewhat cleaner look.

i then cut out the part where i marked and then installed the hinges and drilled the holes then bolted it up.

now this might be a part that some people might not like, you have to notch the hell outta the inside panel so that the hinges can swing in.. not a big deal for me since i will just fiberglass a few bubbles into the interior trim panel. here is what the notching will look like.

now its time for reinforcement.... now lookin at the door jam i put an 1/8 piece of steel behind there to tie the two hinges together.

ok now for the inside of the hinges.... i took a piece of angle iron cut to the size of the hinges from top to bottom (both) i then welded nuts on the back of it.

Then bolted it onto the hinges where the hinge has a hole for it to mount to the original jeeps body.

now that the hinges are attached together, the rear still need to be mounted to the body so that they dont flex, now this is what i did temporary and it works, i still wanna figure somehting else out to make it work better, basically i drilled throught the sheetmetal inside then through the angle iron attached to the higes the bolted the two together.

ok so now the hinges are in and all together.

Now its time to move to the door. stock latch and striker are removed, door handle also. Get rid of all the linkage, everyhting that ran to that latch it just gets in the way. take a 1/8 plate and weld or bolt it to the rear of the door, where the hinges will attach, either on the inside of the door or on top of the door skin, i chose inside but im not sure why.. lol this is what my 1/8 plate looked like, i had to notch it for the window track.

Now from the inside close the door and see where the hinges will mount to the door. you will only use two of the three holes in the hinges. so take a drill and drill those two holes into the 1/8 steel plate. Make the holes at straight as you can.. and drill them the same size as the hole in the hinges.

Now its time to take your door off. get a punch and tap out the hinge pins. I have power windows and locks so i had to remove all those wire, (which i extended later on to make the window function again).

i used two floor jacks and jacked up the door and aligned the hole i drilled with the holes in the hinges and then bolted them together. (now u can just get a friend to hold the door up but i was doing it by myself so i had to improvise).

do a test swing of the door to see how it opens suicide and make sure you wipe the drool off youself.. hehe.... it should be perfectly aligned just the way the door was when it wasnt suicided.

ok so now how do we latch the door shut? hmmmm.. well this is what i did... if you are doing the passenger side door then use the driver side latch on the passenger side... in other words just use the opposite side latch on the side you are suiciding....

ok now with that said i cut out the sheetmetal where the latch mounted (from the opposite side door) and then cut out the metal and then attached it by welding or bolting it to the front of the door.

now to mount the striker... i climbed inside and saw where the striker needed to be mounted, then marked and tacked it just to make sure it worked them welded it when i was satisfied it did. this pic was taken after the stock hinges were removed but you get the idea.

ok so now that that works you need to figure a way to get in and out. i installed rear glass solenoid to open the door, then wired it up to my remote. but i didnt stop there. on the outside i shaved the handle then took the key hole and welded it towards the front and then attached the linkage to the latch

but i didnt stop there i mounted the stock handle at the bottom of the door panel but in a vertical position. its hard to see in the pic tho.

ok now for the final touches :

I extended the wires so that my power window would work, thr wires now enter through tha back of the door where the hinges are, i also had to run wires for the solenoid, and my M3 mirrors and done light switch.

also small notchs will need to be made in the door panles for the latch and the hinges.


Now remove the stock hinges off the door and the jam, they are a bitch to get off, what i did was drill out the spot welds then used an air chisle to break it off.

then i welded up the holes left from where the wires routed throught the jam and on the door. then, a lil bit of grindin and bondoin, and then primer and this is what u get

and here is your final result! the doors will open a full 90..... but this pic doenst show a full 90 so ohh well u get the idea

Well this setup may not be for everyone... it works for me cuz i dont have much money to dump into a $300 suicide door kit... and i dont have access to a welder... the body work side i can find someone to weld up the holes from the stock hinges and striker...

#2... unfortunatley there isnt enough room to move the hinges in enough to get away from notching the inner wall... again when ya dont have access to some resources, you make due with what ya can...

#3... bolting the hinges to the doorframe isnt a problem. they were a bolton hinge originally and as long as it is reinforced properly it wont be a problem... as for the striker... it was originally bolted to the door frame anyway for adjustability so dont see why it would have to be welded...t the latch was also bolted to the door...

#4.. the support plate on the door is fine as well.... i actually went with a thinner piece of plate... again due to resources... but seems too work well... the door is supported well and doesnt sag or flex at all..

#5... as for the bolts on the hinge... i actually used all 3 bolts on the hinge.... just didnt make the change to the how-to...

Again this mod may not be for everyone... it worked for the author as well as me... and can work for anyone who doesnt wanna drop a few hundred on a suicide kit, but wants suicide doors... plus me personally, would rather make something work from another vehicle, rather than be like everyone else that can throw money at their ride and buy a kit... i think its more of a custom job that way...

but hey this is my truck and not everyone elses... i just thought some poeple would like to se an alternate way of doing what others have been doing for a long time...