The Stovebolt.com Forums Home | Tech Tips | Gallery | FAQ | Events | Features | Search
Fixing the old truck

BUSY BOLTERS
Are you one?

Where is it?? The Shop Area

continues to pull in the most views on the Stovebolt. In August alone there were over 22,000 views in those 13 forums.

Searching the Site - a click away
click here to search
New here ??? Where to start?
Click on image for the lowdown. Where do I go around here?
====
Who's Online Now
11 members (TUTS 59, Hotrod Lincoln, BLUEMEANIE, homer52, JW51, cmayna, Guitplayer, Possum, Joe W, UtahYork, 1 invisible), 514 guests, and 1 robot.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Forum Statistics
Forums66
Topics126,776
Posts1,039,271
Members48,100
Most Online2,175
Jul 21st, 2025
Step-by-step instructions for pictures in the forums
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
#1186514 10/13/2016 12:20 AM
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 2,952
S
'Bolter
'Bolter
S Offline
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 2,952
Got the door off today and installed the "new" hinge. All went well but trying to line up the bolts in the door with the hinge tabs was time consuming even with a drift.
Finally got the 6 bolts in and started to try and align it. Very time consuming. Took us about 4 hours work and I am not even nearly lined up. The gap at the leading edge is about 3/8 inch and at the rear of the door it fits tight against the body. Door would not close. Striker off. Tried various combinations of bolt (top hinge-bottom hinge) and no luck. There is not much play in the hinge slots so don't know where I go from here.
I read all of the tech tips on the doors and have watched Jerry Kassis video a few times. Fortunately I am in no rush as the truck won't be back on the road until spring. Any secrets or tips would be welcomed.


1949 Chevy 1/2-Ton
"Sedgewick"
In the Gallery
1989 Caprice
Sedgewick #1186538 10/13/2016 2:03 AM
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 10,059
5
Renaissance Man
Renaissance Man
5 Offline
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 10,059

Do you have the door weather strip installed on the door? This makes adjustments difficult, especially in your case since you are installing a "new"-to-the-truck hinge.
When adjusting a door to the door opening, it is best to do it without the striker installed. It gets in the way.
Are your door belt lines lining up with those on the cab, front and back? You can solve bad gaps by moving the door up or down because the doors are slightly wedge-shaped (narrower at top than at the bottom).
You can get away with a tight gap at the front edge of the door by adjusting it so that the leading edge of the door is 1/16" proud of the trailing edge of the cowl (Factory spec is "flush to 1/6 inch out from the cowl). This will give you a bigger gap at the rear to solve your contact there. You can accomplish this by either bending the hinges at a specific place (don't ask me where, I don't know), or by grinding slots on the bolt holes of the hinge half which bolts to the pillar.
Ain't doors a gas?!
Carl


1952 5-window - return to "as built" condition | 1950 3100 with a 235 and a T-5 transmission
Sedgewick #1186553 10/13/2016 3:14 AM
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 2,952
S
'Bolter
'Bolter
S Offline
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 2,952
The weather-stripping is off and I did remove the striker plate. The belt lines are not exact but within a 16th inch. The leading edge gap is about 3/8 inch. I did think that if that edge was too tight it would run on the cowl which it did as we were adjusting it. I guess that with it being 1/16 inch the hinge must "push" the door away from the cowl to eliminate the rub.
The one thing I noticed when I drove the truck back into the shop (I was working outdoors) is there appears to be a bit more of the hinge tongue (tab or whatever) exposed than there was before, possibly a half inch. Reason I noticed was before I removed the original hinges I tried to compare the new ones with them and there seemed to be less of that tongue exposed. The passenger side is still untouched and that agrees with my idea. The other theory is that both doors were damaged. I am liking the idea of grinding the holes but you say on the holes which bolt to the pillar. I still have time to play with them as winter is around the corner and even though our winters are very mild, the truck stays off the road. Also because the insurance is very high.
Thank you for your input.


1949 Chevy 1/2-Ton
"Sedgewick"
In the Gallery
1989 Caprice
Sedgewick #1186588 10/13/2016 1:08 PM
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 10,059
5
Renaissance Man
Renaissance Man
5 Offline
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 10,059
Are your "new" hinges reproduction? I have read a lot of bad reviews about them. I have never tried them to verify this, but with all of the compound bends and twists in the originals, I can imagine that it would be very difficult to reproduce them accurately. Do you have access to some originals that you can rebuild? If not, PM me. I have a box full of them.
Carl


1952 5-window - return to "as built" condition | 1950 3100 with a 235 and a T-5 transmission
Sedgewick #1186645 10/13/2016 6:20 PM
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 2,952
S
'Bolter
'Bolter
S Offline
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 2,952
The hinges are reproduction and were given to me by a fellow who is restoring a 52 GMC and whose body man said they wouldn't fit. Should have listened to that. They do look identical. I am sorely tempted to remove the new ones and reinstall the original. Unfortunately the pin and springs need replacing and I cannot find anyone local who can/will do it.


1949 Chevy 1/2-Ton
"Sedgewick"
In the Gallery
1989 Caprice
Sedgewick #1186655 10/13/2016 8:14 PM
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 4,066
Bolter
Bolter
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 4,066
get some from Carl, he might have an extra rabbit to send you also


Redryder pix
My Hotrod
A veteran - whether active duty, retired, national guard, or reserve - is someone who, at one point in his or her life, wrote a blank check made payable to The 'United States of America', for an amount of "up to and including my life."
I am fighting cancer and I am winning the fight | Pain is part of life; misery is an option.

Sedgewick #1186663 10/13/2016 9:10 PM
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 2,952
S
'Bolter
'Bolter
S Offline
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 2,952
I have the originals which need rebuilding. If I could find someone who has a clue I would gladly farm them out and dump the "new" ones.
I have room for one or two rabbits. My male has been living apart from his girlfriend for 7 years but I decided to see how they like living together. So far so could and now I have an empty hutch.
On the flip side I am getting old and if something happens to me I would need to find a good home for them all. Not easy. Plus my two cats including the blind Cuban cat.


1949 Chevy 1/2-Ton
"Sedgewick"
In the Gallery
1989 Caprice
Sedgewick #1186669 10/13/2016 10:41 PM
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 442
B
'Bolter
'Bolter
B Offline
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 442
Jerry Kassis, who does the Youtube video of rebuilding the door hinges, has a website which he advertises rebuilding of door hinges, prices and shipping info is there too. Hope this helps, Mike

Sedgewick #1186675 10/13/2016 11:53 PM
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 2,952
S
'Bolter
'Bolter
S Offline
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 2,952
Thanks Mike. I have been talking to Jerry and have the data. In my frustration I decided to remove the doors and "new" hinges today. There is no reason why I should have to force bolts into captive nuts and wiggle and thump the door to make it fit. When I got the hinges out I compared them to the "new" hinges and found some differences, mainly on the angles. I noticed when the new ones were installed the gap around the belt line at the A pillar from the door was in about 1/4". Wasn't before. The hinge is not bent correctly. I will take my hinges to a machine shop and get new pins, springs installed. Bottom line I would accept the discrepancies in the old door rather than live with a new set of hinges that seem to be wrong.


1949 Chevy 1/2-Ton
"Sedgewick"
In the Gallery
1989 Caprice
Sedgewick #1186692 10/14/2016 1:37 AM
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 442
B
'Bolter
'Bolter
B Offline
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 442
sounds like a good plan! good luck! Mike


Link Copied to Clipboard
Home | FAQ | Gallery | Tech Tips | Events | Features | Search | Hoo-Ya Shop
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 8.0.0
(Release build 20240826)
Responsive Width:

PHP: 8.3.11 Page Time: 0.457s Queries: 14 (0.021s) Memory: 0.6392 MB (Peak: 0.7264 MB) Data Comp: Zlib Server Time: 2025-09-22 15:41:01 UTC
Valid HTML 5 and Valid CSS