ust a short while or two back in the Sept. ’25 issue, we endeavored to illustrate the installation and easier break-in of slightly slimmer (PN 60-0485-72) door weatherstrips from Steele Rubber Products. That was for our ongoing 1955 second-series Chevy build, and as always those particular weatherstrips truly made the easier break-in difference.

If you happened to catch the aforementioned story before ordering Brand X online door weatherstrips for your own Task Force or Blue Chip truck project, we’re pleased if we’ve saved you frustration. Even so, our own work is still not quite finished here.

We’ve talked about the weatherstrips, but it seems to yours truly that the nuts ’n’ bolts of the job might be worth a mention as well. At this stage of our subject truck’s build, panels are painted. Yes, for the most part, they’re in living color, and hopefully for keeps.

Even this late in my own painterly game, I still enjoy painting. On the flipside, I don’t enjoy repainting! What comes next here will count. This is where preventative steps taken earlier are about to finally pay off.

When we were focused more on weatherstrip installation and break-in, we might’ve mentioned a little trick for realigning doors, as we liked ’em once before. Several months back, at the end of a marathon dry-fit exercise, we called our fitment good. Regaining those gaps would be difficult from scratch, especially now with doors painted and new weatherstrips already installed.

The little panel realignment trick is hardly anyone’s secret. Others may’ve done it routinely for eons, but honestly, I didn’t know ’til I witnessed it in Riverside, California, at the original Ed Martin Garage. There, it wasn’t so much about panel gap perfection. It was merely a means of relocating a hood. It was how they’d put it back exactly as it was when the customer brought it in. Here at our own shop, we’ve adopted the method for hoods, doors, and occasional decklids as well.

So, as we ease into the nuts ’n’ bolts segment of our story, I might as well confess: I’m what you might call a hardware hoarder, or a fastener amasser if you prefer. In short, I just like having my nuts ’n’ bolts all gathered. For those occasions when there’s truly a difference, I’ll restore the original stuff.

While most Task Force and Blue Chip trucks we see use hex-head body bolts to secure door hinges to the cowl, our Oakland-assembled project ’55 came with smoother fasteners. Hopelessly unable to resist, I went ahead and restored them. Back when that story ran, I received a surprise from reader, Ralph Hernandez, who knew something I did not. As it turns out, the same smoother door hinge bolts I’d labored to restore are now reproduced. In fact, they’re quite affordable through Auto Metal Direct (AMD), so let’s have a look at those also as we go.

Granted, you might say “it’s only nuts ’n’ bolts.” With body parts in living color, however, final assembly is far from stress-free. This might likely require every ounce of finesse we can muster. With that said, here we go—again.

2. Back at the shop, we’ve replaced our worn-out door hinges. The smooth-style hinge-to-cowl bolts, however, are 1955 originals, and we’ve got some time invested.

3. Thanks again to Ralph Hernandez, we’re now aware of these beautiful reproduction bolts from AMD. When our project goes back together for keeps, these will be the bolts we’ll use.

5. We’ll do the same thing here, with two 1/8-inch holes through door hinges, and the underlying sheetmetal of our doors’ hinge pockets.

8. Here, as we tighten things up, they’re dead-on precise for relocating door hinges to cowl.

10. With hinges now accurately reaffixed to the cowl, it’s time to hang a pair of doors. To make that a little easier, let’s first get this truck sitting level with the concrete floor.

13. If the semi-discrete holes bother you, the same job might be possible through the deep recesses of the hinges. For best accuracy, we prefer the wider spread between holes.