C2 Door Hinges

[Joel T.]

Hi Folks;

Another item which came out of the PV this weekend were my door hinges... too much up and down play... They are original and most likely in need of a rebuild or replacement..

What is the conventional wisdom for getting this accomplished? Are there folks who rebuild them (I know there are rebuilding kits available from places like Napa) or does anyone make an acceptable replacement/reproduction?

Thanks!

Joel

[Bob R.]

Re: C2 Door Hinges

There are two reasons that could cause the movement. There are pins and brass bushings in the door hinge. If they are worn you will get movement. The other possibility is the rivits that hold the door skin to the door frame.
The pins and bushing are an easy do it yourself item. They still sell the parts at any GM car dealiership parts department. The replacement parts look very much like the originals except the pins are a little longer then the originals. I fixed that with a grinder. You have to remove the hinges from the car to replace the pins and doing that without scratching the paint is difficult. But punching out the old pins and tapping in the new ones is easy.
If the problem is the door skin to frame rivits the fix is more difficult. I don't know of any source for rivits that look like the originals. You would have to drill out the old rivits and install new. My body shop replaced the rivits on the drivers door of my 63. They function well but the shape of the rivit head is round not flat like the originals.

[Joel T.]

Re: C2 Door Hinges

There are two reasons that could cause the movement. There are pins and brass bushings in the door hinge. If they are worn you will get movement. The other possibility is the rivits that hold the door skin to the door frame.
The pins and bushing are an easy do it yourself item. They still sell the parts at any GM car dealiership parts department. The replacement parts look very much like the originals except the pins are a little longer then the originals. I fixed that with a grinder. You have to remove the hinges from the car to replace the pins and doing that without scratching the paint is difficult. But punching out the old pins and tapping in the new ones is easy.
If the problem is the door skin to frame rivits the fix is more difficult. I don't know of any source for rivits that look like the originals. You would have to drill out the old rivits and install new. My body shop replaced the rivits on the drivers door of my 63. They function well but the shape of the rivit head is round not flat like the originals.

Hi Bob,

Thanks for the information.. From whaty I can see, I am dealing with the hinge bushings and pins.. I can see where the hinge is not moving versus the door frame but I can see play in the pin area... I also agree that getting this all apart and back together again without messing up the paint will be a challenge!

Thanks again!

Joel

[Gary J.]

Re: C2 Door Hinges

I saw where the vent widows didn't make the grade alone with the doors hinges,etc. were there any other items or was this as far as they got when doing the PV?

[Joel T.]

Re: C2 Door Hinges

I saw where the vent widows didn't make the grade alone with the doors hinges,etc. were there any other items or was this as far as they got when doing the PV?

Gary;

There were other items to be sure... The judge was nice enough to go through the entire process with me, including the road test which we both enjoyed! Bottom line is that I have a number of things to deal with, some expected, others not... The "big ticket" items were the vent windows and door hinges. I also had an issue with the convertible deck springs not being strong enough. Other than that it was small stuff which I will deal with.

Overall, the process is actually pretty straight forward.. If you know your car, and know what they are looking for, it is not intimidating at all. The judge mentioned to me that the average guy takes three tries to get through the PV... I can see where that can happen.

Net net, it was a good experience and I am looking forward to having at it again!

Joel

[Jack H.]

Re: C2 Door Hinges

"Net net, it was a good experience and I am looking forward to having at it again!"

That's the RIGHT attitude and I'm confident you'll get 'er done! Too many expect to pass PV the first time out and develop a 'sour grapes' attitude...

I find it helpful to explain things this way... When you conduct your own pre-test PV run(s), think like this:

You're the original discriminating buyer of this car. You're purchasing the highest priced passenger car in Chevy's lineup. Would you trade your hard earned dollars for this car in the condition it's in?

That's where the PV judge is coming from with the standard being the car IS freshly built, brand new, from the factory...