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

[LCA078]

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]

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]

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]

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!