changing the door hinge
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 41
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changing the door hinge
I ordered a new hinge for my 69 but i'm not sure how to put it in. The paperwork that came with it is worthless so I was wondering how to put it in. Any help at all would be a greatly appreciated.
Ben
Ben
NCM Grand Opening Veteran
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 20,979
Likes: 384
From: South of giving a damn
St. Jude Donor '11, '17
Keep track of the shims that come out, otherwise you're in for trouble. These doors are heavy, while I can lift them & move them around, I couldn't hang them by myself. Engine puller to the rescue though, A couple of straps & the door will managable enough to realign. The bubba I got the car car from claimed the doors had just been realigned by a body shop. I still haven't figured out which one of us got screwed, but I did a better door alignment in 10 minutes than bubbas bodyshop.
Do you really need a new hinge or just a new pin & bushings? Maybe a new spring. These can be replaced without removing the door or hinges.
Do you really need a new hinge or just a new pin & bushings? Maybe a new spring. These can be replaced without removing the door or hinges.
Safety Car
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 4,772
Likes: 2,515
From: Buckeye, AZ
St. Jude Donor '12-'13
I highly recommend you buy or make the specialed tool to do this. The tool is basically a screwdriver with a bent end and the tip slightl curled. There are pictures of it in the Vette catalogs. It is fairly easy with the tool. Taking the old one out should be easy....tap or pry it out and remove. I fiddled with the new one a bit and learned the trick, and it took 5 minutes with the right method. Drop the spring on one end into the hole on top. Use the tool to flex the spring to align with the low hole and tap it up with a mallet into the hole on the bottom. If you place it in the bottom first and try and tap down you end up dropping the spring. It is pretty easy to do with the right tool. I have lent it to a few people in my Corvette club.
Safety Car
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 4,652
Likes: 80
From: Lakeland Florida
I found the tech tip section on how to replace the door springs. One thing I would say is to buy the bent screwdriver tool. You might think you can get by without one, but its more aggravating to do it his way. It needs the bend in it.
Another tip that I would pass along is that I used a small mirror at the bottom of the door, facing up looking at the bottom of the hinge. There is a small hole or indentation that the spring is supposed to fit into. You cant see it from the top, but if you have a mirror wedged in the door you can see how far you need to bend the spring until it pops into place.
Here is the website with the article. I printed it out and used it as a reference when I was doing the job.
https://www.corvetteforum.com/techti...D=67&TopicID=3
kdf
Another tip that I would pass along is that I used a small mirror at the bottom of the door, facing up looking at the bottom of the hinge. There is a small hole or indentation that the spring is supposed to fit into. You cant see it from the top, but if you have a mirror wedged in the door you can see how far you need to bend the spring until it pops into place.
Here is the website with the article. I printed it out and used it as a reference when I was doing the job.
https://www.corvetteforum.com/techti...D=67&TopicID=3
kdf
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 3,268
Likes: 2
From: Minnesota in the summer, Las Vegas in the winter
I took both doors off. Then I cleaned up the "armpits" with some fiberglass patch and new paint. I cleaned up the hinges and checked bushings and pins. They were okay so I put new springs onto newly painted hinges. I rested the doors on a milk carton while I adjusted them. The passenger side went perfectly the first try. The driver's side took a little adjusting but wasn't too bad. If you can, take the doors off. Then you can clean up those hinges and door armpits. If not, then you need the bent screwdriver tool to get the job done and keep your sanity. I have only taken a couple of car doors off before so I know the average guy can do this.
