The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Aftermarket door hinges

I figured I would give my experience with aftermarket hinges, maybe it will help someone else. I thought I had pretty much destroyed my stock hinges while trying to get the pins out. They weren't in great shape to begin with. After drilling and hammering on them for weeks, I threw in the towel and bought after market hinges from a big name company (about $350)..... Not sure if it was me but I just could not get the aftermarket hinges to work. I tried bending them, but for the life of me I just could not get the door even close to acceptable. There was a 1/2" gap up front and just looked bad all the way around. Hard to close as well.

After a month of messing with the new hinges I pulled out my stock hinges and used a vice to get the pins out (no press). I had to weld some of the holes and re-drill..... As bad as my original hinges were they still worked better than the new ones. Even after welding and drilling new holes, alignment was so much better.

I sent the hinges back. The company took two months to process and test them. They said they appeared ok. I was able to get some money back but I had to pay for shipping and restocking.....

Anyways, if you are debating rebuilding your hinges or buying new, my advice is to do everything you can to reuse your old ones. Even if you think they are thrashed, they will probably still work better than new ones. At least that was my experience.

I agree. I bought 2 sets of these a while back and they were pure junk. Misaligned beyond any possible hope.

This information is appreciated by a guy who will be working on the doors of a '54 3100 soon.
Work with the originals is the order of the day.

I wouldn't waste too much time watching YouTube videos of the process. There are much better guides available.

Jon, do you have any suggestions on where to get those guides?

Not sure if we are supposed to put links in here but 67-72 Chevy truck forum has some information on which way to bend the hinges to pull the door in our out. It is helpful for minor movements. If you are looking for information on getting the pins out, a press really would be the way to go. I bought a really big bench vise and bolted it to my bench on a big steel plate. That helped as well. There are some tech tips on here which are helpful but I would be prepared for the reality that your pins may really really really resist being hammered out. A press or a big vise are a requirement I think.

Yes...one fellow here wrote an article which was pretty good: https://www.stovebolt.com/techtips/doors/hinges/index.html
And there was another article...written I think by a fellow named Deve, but I didn't save it and would have to search for it.

I had the same issue, I have a pair of those "new hinges" in a box downstairs. Took the old hinges and reworked them. Followed a video on youtube by Jerry Kassis for The Filling Station. Pretty detailed video. That and a friend in the tool and die business made it happen.

Deve's hinge repair guide with pics. http://forums.devestechnet.com/foru...9-tip-of-the-week-41-for-july-10-16-2016