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Hinge update

A few days ago I posted about putting bushings in worn hinges for a '54('55 ?) Lincoln restoration . Well , I picked up the other 3 and got them home - the first was a piece of cake - and tried to remove the pins . TRIED being the operative word here . Tap on the end of the pin and ... nothing , so smack it a little harder and ... nothing . OK , get a bigger hammer , and a punch since the end of the pin is beginning to deform and ... nothing . OK , put a little oil on them and let them sit while I machine a slug with a pin on one end to try pressing them out . 12 ton jack in a homemade frame , and I used every ounce it had . Result is the pin on the end of the slug now looks like a little teeny barrel , it was so cute ! Heat and a pin of better steel had the same result ... so I decided to see if a chisel under the head would do anything , and discovered that at least 2 had broken pins . I did manage to drill one of the broken ones out ... So I called my guy and told him this ain't working , can he get some hinges from the donor car and see if they're any easier . He does , and then tells me these difficult hinges have been sitting half a mile from the beach out in California for the last 20 years ... no wonder they're frozen ! I've got 2 more to do now , plan to get them out this AM and get them delivered .

Reply to
Terry Coombs
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The other day I replaced the hinge bushings on a neighbor's 199? Chevy

2500. These are the bushings meant to be pressed evenly into the hinges with a bolt through the center, NOT beaten in with a BFH.

The door now aligns with the fender at the front edge, but not so well with the body at the rear, and takes an excessive slam to fully latch. Unlike my Ford the hinges are welded to the body and door, and the latch doesn't seem to allow adjustment. I got it somewhat better with a wood wedge and his buddys' brute strength. What's the correct way to align a Chevy pickup door?

-jsw

Reply to
Jim Wilkins

I'll ask my friend today , but if the hinges are welded on both ends ... we used to wedge a wood block in an apprppriate spot and use it as a fulcrum to bend the hinges . If the door is low , you might try putting a jack under the almost-closed door and jacking it up to bend the hinges , but you'd have less control .

Reply to
Terry Coombs

Awwwwwwwwwwwwww!

Is the client Chinese, and did he give you the Chinese curse?

May you live in interesting times.

Reply to
Larry Jaques

Are you sure about the latch and post? The post the latch grabs is the most common pivoting point for adjustment, but latches are usually able to be rotated. (generic, not just Chevy)

Chevy? Scrap it.

Key question: Has the truck been wrecked before?

Where is the impingement? Since a welded hinge can't be shimmed on the outside to allow the door to close, you'll have to rotate the pillar with a wee pull from a 20T frame alignment post.

Alternatively, I've seen the frame guys insert a piece of metal between the hinge leaves to make such an adjustment on something back in the early '80s. Controlled bending. Me? I prefer bolts and shims, but I'm no Chebby engineer. (thank Crom)

P.S: Check the gaps after each tweak. Beat with a sledge to undo. Chebby engineers are into "primal" bodywork.

Reply to
Larry Jaques

You can adjust the striker pin, it unscrews and slides around in the door post to allow adjustment. Or you can do what most shops do, use a door alignment tool. Basically it's a heavy chunk of hardened flat stock. One end has a U shaped notch that goes over the striker pin, About 3" from that is a longer striker pin. You latch the pin in the door latch, then gently close the door so the notch engage the pin on the post. Then it's a simple thing to use leverage to move the door up/down to do some minor adjustment.

Since you probably don't have one laying around, you can use a chunk of heavy steel and attach a bolt that will engage the latch, now stick the bar on a floor jack and jack the door up a bit.

Reply to
Steve W.

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