The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot '60-'66 Trucks Now what do I do? It's broke!!

I will do my best at describing my problem so bare with me. I busted off a bottom door hinge bolt during the tear down of my 1965 lwb and I tried everything from PB blast, welding a nut onto it and turning it off, to finally heat. Well I turned it too hard without it breaking loose and the steel block that the bolts go into fell down into the bottom of the pillar and is stuck, (the clips that hold it in place broke). Any ideas on what to do now? I tried a coat hanger and grabbing and pulling it back up and a magnet, but its stuck down there due to the busted bolt still being in it. Is there a nother way to make an adjustable door hinge plate I,m at a loss any ideas would be very much appreciated. Has this happened to anyone else? Sorry for being so long winded but it was hard to explain.

Did you turn the door upside down and shake the snot out of it? I can't imagine a gravity fall lodging it in that tight.

No, its in the front door pillar not in the door its self and there is no way to access it.(without cutting into the pillar)

leave it there and fix the damage, be better to have a new captive nut in there anyway rather than trying to salvage the corroded one

Bill

I agree...worst case, it'll just be an annoying little rattle when you hit a bump.

cm

How do I do the captive nut idea? Can you send me a picture, so I can get a better idea of what to do? Thanks

a captive nut is what was there, rebuild it, was just 4 metal fingers around a square nut or a drilled and tapped steel block .... or find something close to replace it, like modern cage nuts [click "square style" on left]

Bill

Oh, I see. Good idea! Thanks for your help. A big problem has now turned into a fairly minor one.

XtechX

I had the same problem and had to resoort to cutting out the panel not as hard as it sounds. I have some pictures in this album.

http://rides.webshots.com/album/570011449JVCLFX


email me direct and I can send the pictures to you direct.

Jake
[email protected]

You are going to have to duplicate the plate with the threaded holes. The movement of this plate in the pillar is what gives your adjustment so you can align the door. Otherwise you will end up with either rubbing or a gap.

In the future when they are that tight, redrill and tape them. It's also a good idea to run a tap into all your threaded holes before you assemble them to clean out any rust or corrison.

John

http://s783.photobucket.com/albums/...%20Pickup%20project/?albumview=slideshow

If you can't find access, you are going to have to cut an access hole and retrieve the plate. As stated, you don't want it rattling around in there.
If I recall mine (almost the same thing happened to me) was a 1/4 inch plate with three holes drilled and tapped.
It will be easy to make using the old one as a pattern.
Then, if you are lucky the bottom clip will still be intact, you just fish the new one back in place.
If not get the plate in place and bolt it down with the three hinge bolts. Now drill a fourth hole (10/32 works) off to the side and tap it. Put a small bolt (short as possible) in the new hole. Use this small bolt to hold the plate in place until you get the three hinge bolts started. Then remove the small bolt and align your door. This way you will still have the movement necessary to make your adjustments to the door.
Just don't remove all the bolts at the same time or it will drop to the bottom again.

An easier way is to take a long bolt and cut the head off it. Remove your first hinge bolt and then screw this headless bolt into the hole. Remove the other bolts and slid the hinge over the headless bolt. Then you can use the headless bolt to hold the plate in place when you go to put the hinge back on. Once the other bolts are in replace the headless bolt with the correct bolt.

John

http://s783.photobucket.com/albums/...%20Pickup%20project/?albumview=slideshow

These are some really good ideas and I appreciate everyones input. Whats the best place to cut the pillar to remove the hinge block and to get it back up to where it goes and should I just butt weld the old cut out piece of pillar back in or make a new piece. Or is there a better way to retrieve and fix it without cutting a big hole. Right now Im torn between the captive nut and retrieval and repair.

Use a 4" cut off wheel and a perminate marker to see where your cutting, ALSO PLEASE WEAR SAFETY GLASSES. Two way to consider the weld up.

We butt welded ours because there was not much pressure being put on the door check retainer area. However, if you can barrow or rent a hand held flange tool, (see link) you can off set the metal and overlap giving you a bit more area and strength.

http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result?category=&q=flangetool

XtechX How are your toe wells on the inside of the cab are they rotted out? If so they can be cut to get your piece back.
Some guys call them toe boards and that will enable you to retreive your orginal part. This is part of the front door post on the inside.
62 Blue
Don

If it were mine I’d use a cutting wheel on a Dremel and make the cut on the inside. The Dremel will do a lot less damage and is easier to handle in the tight space. Then I’d either fabricate an inspection plate/cover to cover the hole and paint it to match the truck (like a 4 x 4 metal electrical cover). If you have carpeting in the interior stockinteriors.com sells these carpet panels that will cover it up and you won’t see the access panel.

Good luck,
John

http://s783.photobucket.com/albums/...%20Pickup%20project/?albumview=slideshow

A hole saw would work fine too. Save the piece and tack
weld it back in.Smooth the cracks with bondo Never see it again

Well, it's fixed!! I ended up cutting a 3 sided square in the toe kick panel. I bent the metal down, grabbed the hinge block and now I can put the block back in place. Bend the piece back up into place and weldit shut.
Thanks to everyone for the great suggestions.