CCKW OPEN CAB DOORS

[joel gopan]

Got a set of European Gov't Surplus Doors in Good Condition.
$100.00 plus FedEx pair. Shipping in US should be no more than $15.00 to lower 48.
Joel

[Bill_Wolf]

Joel,

What is the differnce between European doors and original doors?

Bill

Got a set of European Gov't Surplus Doors in Good Condition.
$100.00 plus FedEx pair. Shipping in US should be no more than $15.00 to lower 48.
Joel

[joel gopan]

Light shade of OD( Looks European). had the handles made from round stock, not flat bar. Fits CCKW just fine, but I am a purest and invested about $300.00+ for a NOS USofA set last year.
Joel

[armydriver]

I want the doors Joel. I have PMd you. Jim

[joel gopan]

I will start packing them. Thanks.
Joel

[armydriver]

I received the doors yesterday and they look great on the old truck. Thanks Joel, as you and the rest of you know, doors for open cab trucks are pretty hard to find.

[pfarber]

How about getting the frames repo'd so that more trucks can have doors?

I'm sure some of the jeep canvas shops can skin them if they get the metal.

[joel gopan]

The frames are more than just black iron, but the hinges (left/right) latches, springs wear plates stiffeners, etc. and misc. hardware will add up quick. I have saved one NOS Passenger door for a spare, and have in the neighborhood of $400.00+ invested to have a NOS matched set. Many would not want to have that in a complete CCKW.
Joel

[pfarber]

Thats why you repro them, sell a lot and make back your investment.

You know there are a lot of CCKWs out there.... not getting some of the rarer parts out there just turns off people from restoring them.

There is no CCKW repro market unless we (CCKW owners) make one.

[joel gopan]

I can see $400.00/Door with all the detailing, there are a lot of pieces and the Canvas with the windows is a tight fit and there are stiffners rivited on after the canvas is installed. I do not see a ready market. I operated mine for twenty two years before I found NOS pair. The COE 4X4 Autocar has similar Door but hinges are in different location, I had a pair of these tucked behind my seat until Frank Buck got them. He traded me the French CCKW Doors. I gotta tell ya, Paul, I've been at this a long time, and had many requests for scarce CCKW parts . A funny thing happens when I discover and buy the rare parts, the customers on the "waiting list" sort of fade away when anything gets over $50.00. We are 35 years too late for the good cosmetic parts, many older dealers have retired, and their storage buildings that held the nice parts are long gone, along with the parts.
Joel

NOTE: The French CCKW NOS LH Canvas Door sold for $123.50 today, I sort of put a casual bid of around $70.00, but would have bid lots more had I really needed it.

[Brent Delaney]

Hi Joel,

You are quite correct in what you say these trucks are now 65 years old!
A lot can happen in this time, and the only people who save these vehicles for restoration (usually) know most of the hard to get items are either in another country, out of there budget or not for sale. Most of the time all three for me
Of course its not to say that a item is no longer available, I have a lot of nos gmc parts, but until my gmc's are finished I won't sell anything.
Now you might think that this is a little selfish, but I am a generous person most of the time and have been known to give stuff away to other collectors, but what usually happens is the person then on sells the vehicle when they lose interest along with the the parts you gave them.
So it sorta spoils it for the next guy who comes along.

Do you know what I mean Another example of this is lending parts or manuals, I just don't do it now as I have lost a lot of rare items this way

One of my prize cckw manuals was lent by my father to a local guy, I never did see that manual again Dad can't even remember who he is

Oh well it was a good lesson for me, just take note guys, when it comes down to it would you lend your truck to someone you don't know I don't think so.

Any one else had similar experiences

Cheers for now,

Brent Delaney,

[joel gopan]

I can relate to that. I have another twist on some of the requests I get for long gone parts, I get many calls from all over the US for parts, I do not mind that at all, as it sometimes helps my budget. Some callers will remind me that they have called me three times in four days and ask "what will be the price" and "when will you find it? My truck has to be at a show Saturday". I sometimes respond " can you come over and mow my lawn while you are waiting?" or "will you fly up to Maine to paint my barn while I am spending the day on the phone looking for your June 1942 after Serial number 222610 CCKW mirror arm?" Finding obsolete parts is time consuming and sometimes whole days are spent on the phone without success. It gets harder each year, as oldtimers retire from the business. It is too bad we can't go back to the 1950s when the rare stuff was everywhere. Most of us that have hard to find parts have taken years to do so, there are no secrets, just years of contacts. All is not lost though, as there are a couple of dealers on the East Coast that have bought out warehouses of old parts, but it will be a couple years before they find time to sort the stuff out. For the most part, this hobby is 99.999% enjoyable, and I get to help fellow collectors from New Zealand to Estonia.
Joel

[armydriver]

I feel quite lucky in getting these doors for Joel. I have been looking for a set for quite a long time.
I will take a look at having the frames reproduced and then the buyers haveing a local canvas shop to the shins. Probably not economical fesible, but I will explore the possibility.

[armydriver]

oops, always edit your posts. I ment to say, from Joel.

[pfarber]

Econ 101 guys.

IF you have the ONLY open cab doors you get to set the price. What you *think* is high may be quite reasonable to others.

I doubt that you are gonna write a business plan and market research doors, tire carriers, widgets etc for a small volume rare parts from WWII trucks... but 90% of the payoff in custom work is not the money.. but the process and the end results.

Pick a small, hard to find part and put the money into it. Be wise, be cautous, but get it done. It will pay off at some point.

You are NOT gonna get rich... but you will have fun, meet a lot of nice (and some not so nice) people and be know as a person who DID SOMETHING usefull.

[armydriver]

I agree and part of my summer off will be exploring the possibility of reproduction of the door frames and maybe complete doors. Will keep all apprised of the progress on this.

[ed cuevas]

Joel, Do you have any more open cab doors. I do have the driver side and just need the passenger side.

Ed Cuevas

[SpookyDad]

I understand the problems with reproducing parts that are no longer available. The costs can get quite high very quickly. Tooling costs spread out over 50,000 parts is insignificant but spread over 50 parts, it is staggering.

Could a drawing be made so if somebody wanted to make it themselves or have it made, the costs can be borne by them?

It is just a suggestion.

Neil