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My first time with x-doors. Any specific advice or improvements?

LCA078

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As mentioned in an earlier thread, I just picked up a 1097A2 direct from the military. Besides being fairly clean, it came with the helmet top and x-doors which were the primary reasons for picking it up. Being this is my first time ever using x-doors, I was a bit surprised in how 'thin' they felt? Maybe I'm just used to the extremes of using soft doors vs. armored doors and I assumed x-doors would have a bit more "heft" to them, especially given the price these things come with.

Anyway....

Any specific advice or improvements to the doors I should consider as I get this HMMWV road worthy? The doors will need a coat of RAPCO paint as it's got a few small spots that are peeling and are pretty faded compared to the rest of the truck. I don't think the doors are off another truck as the camo pattern matches up very well, it's just faded a lot more than the truck body paint. No idea why the door pain would fade faster than the truck paint??? I'm assuming there's no special prep coat or other for these doors? I think I read somewhere they are not traditional fiberglass but something else that makes painting and repair a bit challenging.

Any improvements to the locks, windows or what not I should start budgeting for?
 

BLK HMMWV

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Welcome.
Since we don't know what your doors look like currently it's hard to say what condition they are in.
The rubber seals around the outer edges and the felt seals around the window openings are repairable.
The glass in the windows will eventually start to delaminate. The little roller wheels that ride in the side tracks will also possibly wear.
After market stuff:
You can find the door latches available that have a keyed lock in them to allow you to lock the doors from the outside if you want.
Recently someone posted some 3 D printed window slides that replace the roller wheels in the windows
Expect to find that your X doors and related windows will rattle and make a lot of noise. A new door gasket seal may help solve some of the noise. Proper alignment of the hard door latch stud and adjustment alignment of door hinges may help also.
Your doors will most likely still leak the fact you are putting a helmet top on it instead of a roof with a turret or turret filler plate will help eliminate the biggest leak.
As to the X door itself.
The first gen X door was a fiberglass /kevlar fiber door.
The military used CARC paint . It is very resilient however special care should be used when trying to sand or prep it as it has many carcinogen's in it.
 

Mogman

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The camo pattern is standardized pattern.
Most likely those doors did not come with that truck originally, in fact I don't think any HMMWVs came standard with a helmet top, I believe all were field modified.
I too think the X doors are rather flimsy, I had them on my first HMMWV, a helmet top :)
I much prefer the supplemental armor doors which is what I have for one of my current HMMWVs as they are much more rigid than the regular X doors.
As far as leaking the helmet top with good seals is probably the driest HMMWV but I would suspect anyone that claims their HMMWV does not leak at all is simply blowing smoke..
At least with a decently set up helmet top you should not have to wear a slicker suit when driving in the rain.
 

BKubu

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My M1165A1 is fairly dry inside. The only leaks comes from the seal between the driver's door and the cab (the driver's seat gets wet in a hard rain). I have NOS X doors on my truck. I believe the doors are adjusted properly and the rubber seals are fresh...and the driver's door still leaks! Why couldn't it be one of the rear doors!
 

LCA078

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Welcome.
Since we don't know what your doors look like currently it's hard to say what condition they are in.
The rubber seals around the outer edges and the felt seals around the window openings are repairable.
The glass in the windows will eventually start to delaminate. The little roller wheels that ride in the side tracks will also possibly wear.
After market stuff:
You can find the door latches available that have a keyed lock in them to allow you to lock the doors from the outside if you want.
Recently someone posted some 3 D printed window slides that replace the roller wheels in the windows
Expect to find that your X doors and related windows will rattle and make a lot of noise. A new door gasket seal may help solve some of the noise. Proper alignment of the hard door latch stud and adjustment alignment of door hinges may help also.
Your doors will most likely still leak the fact you are putting a helmet top on it instead of a roof with a turret or turret filler plate will help eliminate the biggest leak.
As to the X door itself.
The first gen X door was a fiberglass /kevlar fiber door.
The military used CARC paint . It is very resilient however special care should be used when trying to sand or prep it as it has many carcinogen's in it.
After power washing the truck pretty good, I can the doors are in better shape than I originally thought. A lot of what I thought was damage or delamination was actually moss and lichens(?) that came off leaving a fairly good surface. I'll add some pics for input.

I also noticed I have keyed latches- does that mean these are already aftermarket latches? They seem pretty easy to replace with new tumblers so I have a matched set with new keys. I'll look into the 3D printed sliders and what not to help with glass rattle.

As for as adjustment, these doors seem pretty well adjusted top/bottom/side to side as they open and close well. But what I don't see is the ability to move the door catch post inward so the doors are more "closed" against the body. I see where this will cause a lot of rattling.

The camo pattern is standardized pattern.
Most likely those doors did not come with that truck originally, in fact I don't think any HMMWVs came standard with a helmet top, I believe all were field modified.
I too think the X doors are rather flimsy, I had them on my first HMMWV, a helmet top :)
I much prefer the supplemental armor doors which is what I have for one of my current HMMWVs as they are much more rigid than the regular X doors.
Yup, after the good power washing, I can see my doors weren't part of the original paint job. I also forgot about the standardized camo pattern. I looked up the supplemental armor (the steel sheets that pop rivet on the outside, right?) and they look nice....but that project will be on the "when I have money and time to burn" pile.

As far as leaking the helmet top with good seals is probably the driest HMMWV but I would suspect anyone that claims their HMMWV does not leak at all is simply blowing smoke..
At least with a decently set up helmet top you should not have to wear a slicker suit when driving in the rain.
I never enjoyed driving any military vehicle in the rain. Between the crappy windshield wipers, crappy defrost capability, and constant drips throughout the cabin, driving a military vehicle during a rain storm was just not fun, or even really safe for that matter.

My M1165A1 is fairly dry inside. The only leaks comes from the seal between the driver's door and the cab (the driver's seat gets wet in a hard rain). I have NOS X doors on my truck. I believe the doors are adjusted properly and the rubber seals are fresh...and the driver's door still leaks! Why couldn't it be one of the rear doors!
Yeah, it was always the "Dang it!!!" moment when I would jump into a vehicle in the field without verifying the seat was dry after a rain storm. It just sucked to leave a dry tent with dry clothes but then jump in a truck only to get your pants, and sometimes back of your uniform, completely soaked from the crappy seals.

Ahh the good old days...that I don't miss!!! :ROFLMAO:
IMG_5199.JPGIMG_5201.JPGIMG_5200.JPGIMG_5205.JPGIMG_5203.JPGIMG_5202.JPGIMG_5204.JPGIMG_5206.JPGIMG_5207.JPGIMG_5209.JPG
 
Last edited:

LCA078

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I'll combine another post here as I originally posted about why there was double-sided tape on my helmet top right above the hard doors. Members said it was probably from stick-on rain gutter/deflectors which makes sense. But when I posted a pic showing my door position, I was informed my doors probably needed adjusting. So to keep this thread focused on all my x-door questions and issues, I'm adding that conversation and closing my old thread.

Here's the old thread for background: https://www.steelsoldiers.com/threads/window-fairings-for-camper-hard-tops.224877/#post-2623411

To continue the conversation:

Me: I took a pic of how much the doors jut out from the edge of the helmet top door bevel. Seems to me the helmet top design would be way better if the top of that bevel extended out another inch to allow water to flow towards the outside edge of the door instead of allowing it hit the seals. But yeah, I can see now why folks installed some trim up there to redirect the water.

I'll look to see if I can adjust the doors. mtf...

Check for shims at the hinges
I can't find shims and can't see how the door latch would allow adjustment for a tighter close. What am I missing?
 

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KKroger

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I'll combine another post here as I originally posted about why there was double-sided tape on my helmet top right above the hard doors. Members said it was probably from stick-on rain gutter/deflectors which makes sense. But when I posted a pic showing my door position, I was informed my doors probably needed adjusting. So to keep this thread focused on all my x-door questions and issues, I'm adding that conversation and closing my old thread.

Here's the old thread for background: https://www.steelsoldiers.com/threads/window-fairings-for-camper-hard-tops.224877/#post-2623411

To continue the conversation:

Me: I took a pic of how much the doors jut out from the edge of the helmet top door bevel. Seems to me the helmet top design would be way better if the top of that bevel extended out another inch to allow water to flow towards the outside edge of the door instead of allowing it hit the seals. But yeah, I can see now why folks installed some trim up there to redirect the water.

I'll look to see if I can adjust the doors. mtf...



I can't find shims and can't see how the door latch would allow adjustment for a tighter close. What am I missing?
Mine just don't seem to stick out that far, my Helmet top is a different shape than yours as well. it appears. the part above the door is a different shape.
 

LCA078

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Mine just don't seem to stick out that far, my Helmet top is a different shape than yours as well. it appears. the part above the door is a different shape.
Interesting.

I found the AMTECH manufacturer tag and it looks like date of manf is 8/97. Maybe my top is an older/newer design?

Helmet Top manf tag.JPG
 

DREDnot

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I can't find shims and can't see how the door latch would allow adjustment for a tighter close. What am I missing?
Most of the closing adjustment is in the catch on the inside of the door. There are shims under the latch that can be added or removed. The striker also has a little in/out slop that can be useful

de.jpg
 
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