Door Hinges - The Bumpside Build-Off

Getting doors to fit right seems to be at the bottom of many people's lists and might as well be black magic to some, but when it comes down to it-it's not much harder than a crossword puzzle or a good game of Trivial Pursuit. As classic truckers, we have it a bit easier than say, the musclecar crowd with their big, long, and not to mention heavy doors, that can be a real pain in the posterior. Most of our doors will be bolted to hinges that are bolted to the doorjamb. They're aren't too many welded-on hinges like the late models and most makes have some sort of hinge pin repair kit available.

The door hinges on my '68 F-100 had seen better days and the driver's door was so far out of alignment that it was wearing parts out, not to mention the hard to find latch that broke before I got it. while replacement latches are getting tougher to find, Dennis Carpenter has pretty much everything else to refurbish your F 100's doors and get 'em swingin' in the right direction again.

In the confines of a doorjamb, the door doesn't have too many places to go. As long as your truck hasn't been wrecked or had its doors tweaked, it should only be a matter of hours before getting them hung properly. replacing the hinge pins is a no-brainer and only takes a few minutes once the doors are off, but you may want to have an extra set of hands to help with the lifting chores.

All's well that ends well, and thanks to a little elbow grease, a tight fitting thinking-cap, and Dennis Carpenter, this was an open and shut case-literally.

Here are the basic parts you...        read full caption Here are the basic parts you need from Dennis Carpenter to rebuild your door hinges: new hinge pins, brass bushings (two per hinge), and door hinge check springs. You may or may not need the door check springs, but the ones in my truck (like most of my brake return springs) had broken at some point.	Here is the driver-side door...        read full caption Here is the driver-side door before I started with the hinges. Like most trucks, the driver-side door is going to show the most wear, and will need the most attention. Notice the rearward sag? This is how the door sits without the door striker installed in the jamb, and is the result of worn door hinge pins and or bushings, as well as improper door adjustment.	The door had been out of alignment...        read full caption The door had been out of alignment for years before I got it. The latch inside the door wore the edge of the striker down because they were too far away from one another--in other words, the door needs to be adjusted to the rear of the truck so more of the latch is connecting to the striker. I bought an extra door along the way and used the striker from it to replace this one, but Dennis Carpenter has new ones if you need `em.
Next the doors need to come...        read full caption Next the doors need to come off. Don't forget the third bolt that is inside the hinge pocket of each hinge!	You want to avoid hitting...        read full caption You want to avoid hitting the hinges too hard with a hammer to remove the old hinge pins. I used a C-clamp, a socket that was big enough to fit over the head of the hinge pin, and a short bolt that's smaller than the diameter of the pin. Depending on how rusty or stuck your hinge pins are, a good soaking beforehand with penetrating fluid will help free them up.	After the hinge pins are out,...        read full caption After the hinge pins are out, the brass bushings need to be removed.