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early model doors on a late model?

Demonoid369

NAXJA Forum User
NAXJA Member
Location
Salem, OR
been wanting to tinker and make a pair of half doors with soft tops for my 97' for year round use but all around my area has the early model doors and no late models. ive seen threads about putting late model doors on early jeeps but never the other way around. is it fairly easy? i know the hinges are different. if its more work than necessary, ill just hold out till i find some late model ones
 
Late model doors have been put on early models - the striker needs to be changed, which usually requires welding a plate over the original hole to fasten the new striker (or some creativity in adaptation.)

I would imagine that the reverse is also possible.

1984-1996 should have the "pin" striker, 1997-2001 should have the "arch" striker.
 
Hinges are also different. You'll need to pick up a second set of late model hinges to make things work unless you want to undo bolts every time to swap doors.

Also, make sure you get doors off a 97.5 or later, early 97s got the same heavy plate hinges that 96 and earlier got.
 
Hinges are also different. You'll need to pick up a second set of late model hinges to make things work unless you want to undo bolts every time to swap doors.

Also, make sure you get doors off a 97.5 or later, early 97s got the same heavy plate hinges that 96 and earlier got.

If the early 97s got the same heavy hinges, would that not make the swap easier?
 
You'd have to relocate the latch as well. It sits lower on the newer doors. This pic is from when we swapped my doors for JP.

IMG_0003.jpg
 
Can you not swap the latch from inside the doors so that the striker does not need to be modified?

I do not believe so. I haven't had them side-by-side, but I seem to want to think they mount differently, and you'd probably still have to modify the door shell to clear the striker.
 
AFAIK it doesn't. The window tracks are very different since the whole window goes up and down on late models while only the rectangular part goes up and down on early models.
 
Well that answers that. I'm curious about how well the glass itself swaps from door to door if possible.

Putting newer glass into old doors is possible but takes fabrication/welding skills and a donor door. Basically you cut out the front track from the newer door and also replace sections of the inner door structure and swap that in as the regulator mounts differently. I did this because I really don't like vent windows.

Now going the other way, older windows in newer doors might be easier since the front window track is a part of the vent window frame. I'm not sure how the regulator swap would work or if the newer regulator would mount to the old window, but i'm sure it can be done with some work.

In the end, probably not worth it either way unless you're anal like me..
 
well looking through many doorless mods, from early to the 97+ i do believe i have the early style hinges....... yay me! lol i got the cream of the crop with the wiring department and doors now lol. so the question now is this: if i do have the earlier beefier hinges like the 96- but have the door style/stricker/etc.. of a 97+ what do i do to allow other doors to be used? lol
 
The hinges can be transferred from one door to another. The bolt pattern should be the same.
I'm confused. johnnyc posted evidence that this is false in this thread, and you quoted it like 4 posts up. Why are you saying it'll work now?
 
Yup, mine was made march of 97' here's the hinges
sebete8e.jpg

Don't mind where the door light switch, I took it out because doing paper route, it gets an outing having the light come on and off a lot lol
So the striker is in a different location but are the hinges located differently also? Reason for asking because I figure if they are the same location, holding the door in the right position, I could get early model doors and since they would be cut up to half doors, I could cut a second hole for the striker to fit in to and then either jimmy rig it some how or something?
 
Hinges should be the same, early model doors should work great at that end. Make sure you get the door side of the hinge with the doors so you can chop them up and make the doors easy-on-easy-off.

I believe you are right about the striker, especially if you can weld. The annoying part will be how the bolts to hold the striker in are countersunk, you are going to need to do some metalwork. It should all be solvable though.
 
Ya I can fabricate and weld, I just need the place and time lol, if not I might if its possible, could snag some early model hinges and retro for them on to a 97.5' and up door? Then no need to cut a hole in to the door for the striker can fit. Probably simpler huh? Lol

Basically its going to be if I can find late model doors or not lol, if I do find some, swap the hinges to early style and if not, well ill be doing a bit more fabricating lol
 
Yeah you can do that too - the late model doors bolt to the early hinges and vise versa, which is how everyone does the late model door swap, so that's in the clear. It's just the striker that's going to be a pain.
 
well i went doorless since learning i had the early style hinge, so freakin simple and easy. plus side i can take them off and put them on by myself which is nice.
question i have is the bushing for the pins, is there a parts number so i can replace the upper since it came out and wasnt in the best shape lol or should i just go to a junk yard ad round up as many bashing as possible? lol
 
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