m38a1 headlight door tricks?

[francisrizzo]

Long time lurker, first time poster. Got my first Willys project, an m38a1 grill wall-hanger complete with headlights and blackout marker lights. My question for the more-experienced folks (everyone here) is "are there some tricks to getting out the headlight doors?" I've removed the 3 screws but the doors won't budge. Looking at parts diagrams and doors for sale on ePay, I don't see any other springs or clips to release, so I'm thinking that they may be painted in (like the windows painted shut in an old house). Anyone have any experiences/recommendations that they can share how to get these doors out without damaging them (I'd like to keep the original doors with multi-layers of paint if possible)...
Thanks!

[4x4M38]

Francis,
Welcome.

Note in the diagrams that there are also gaskets between the headlight
doors and the headlights. Those gaskets are held in place on the buckets
by bent wire springs on the back of the buckets.

There is a possibility that not only the paint, but dried, 60 year
old gaskets crusted to the headlight lenses are keeping you
from breaking the doors loose.

I'd try something stiff, thin, and yet soft to try and get between the
outside door edges and the grille, and pry a little all the way around.
Maybe something like a shaved down wood Popsicle stick.

The doors are very thin metal, like the chrome trim pieces on 60's
and early 70's automobiles, so easy to bend. Be patient, but
work all the way around. It should eventually come loose.

Good luck,

[wesk]

There are three "Y"'s inside each door "A" that retains the seal "B".

[francisrizzo]

Thanks for the suggestions. I did think about that gasket and it was visible between the headlight door and the headlight retaining ring, so using a small flat blade screwdriver I pushed it inward and it broke in lots of little pieces (pretty brittle after who-knows-how-many years). I also used a heatgun on the door at one screwhole and after a minute it started to melt the remaining gasket (but thankfully not the green paint on the door), and I used a 90degree pick/awl to try to lift it off the stand for the screw but no luck. So I don't think the gasket is holding it in (except maybe now the part I melted to the stand). I used the same flat blade screwdriver to clean out the channel between the bucket and the headlight door, but I didn't think about shaving a popsicle/paint stick to try to cut through the paint. I'll give that a try and report back, thanks!

[francisrizzo]

Sorry, been meaning to update this for a while, but had a "duh" moment when looking at the stuck headlight door. Stood the grill upside down and noticed the drain hole in the headlight bucket and matching hole in the headlight door. So I got out a pin-punch and started gently tapping the headlight door out the front of the grill. Two minutes later and some additional prying and the door was out... Turns out it wasn't painted shut to the headlight bucket, but there was enough corrosion/rust between the headlight door and the 3 screw "mounts/stands" that it wouldn't budge before, even pulling on it with hook-shaped screwdrivers...
Thanks again for the suggestions!