Chevy Silverado

Before any mods had been performed, the doors opened traditional style and didn't have the custom appeal the owner wanted on his truck.

There's no doubt about it, the first impression makes a lasting memory for whoever sees your truck. Whether it be airing out the truck when you arrive at the hang-out spot or showing up with bass blasting, a surefire way of getting noticed is opening your door and having it swing wide, suicide style. This old-skool hot-rod mod is still as hot today as it ever was, and it has not lost any steam-unlike other here-today, gone-tomorrow body mods. Many companies sell suicide door kits, but unfortunately, many of them either do not line up properly or are not strong enough to support a fullsize door. Most kits do require a good amount of bodywork knowledge and welding is always required. We contacted Jeff Johnson, from Jeff's Body Shop in England, Arkansas, who just so happened to have a customer's truck coming in for a suicide door installation. It took roughly 80 hours of professional labor, but the end result was worth every minute. Check out the following story as Jeff and his partner, Randy, went to work to install the AutoLoc hinges and latches.

After about 80 hours of work, our project truck had a whole new custom look with doors that swung wide, suicide style.	This is what was used to get the doors to swing suicide: AutoLoc Bear Claw Latches, an installation door pin, and heavy-duty hinges.	Starting off the install, Jeff removed the door panels, then the rear panels to gain access to all of the bolts that will have to be removed and the original latch mechanism. Jeff also removed the windows and seals from both doors, but did not remove the factory hinges as they were used to keep the doors in line until he could measure for the new hinges.
Now, it was time to locate where he would put the new AutoLoc hinges. Jeff aligned the hinges as close to the outside panel of the truck as he could without touching it. Jeff remembered not to remove the factory hinges yet, so that he could keep checking for alignment.	With several measurements taken and templates drawn, the new hinge pockets were then cut.	After a test fitment, the hinges were tack-welded into place.
With the hinges tacked, the door was swung closed and marked where the new hinges hit the door. On this '88-'98 Chevy, Jeff put the hinges 14-3/4 inches from the center of the top bolt to the center of the bottom bolt. Each truck is different, and there may be different distances you will have to measure to get a place that is flat and will work for your truck.	A cutoff wheel was used to cut out the hole in the body for the new Bear Claw latch in the door. Jeff then removed the wires from the pillar post on the truck and located a place to install the latch. Next, he removed the door by knocking out the hinge pins, and got ready to weld them, after he checked for sagging and alignment to make sure that they were just the way he wanted them.	Going back to the door, Jeff welded in the new hinge pockets to the door.