54/1846

[jbcollier]

Cut the pin at the top and bottom of the door.  Remove the door.  Now it is easy to get at things.  You can buy replacement rod/tubing for the pin, no problem.  If you can remove the adjustable bushings from the door then you can sleeve them if need be.  Personally I would use the brass replacements from Banks but they are not cheap.  RD makes SS replacements for a reasonable price.

[rascott]

still haven't pulled out the sawsall.
found the bottom of the hinge pin is threaded and seems to accept a 5/16" bolt.
heard of this for later models-?

i am thinking mabe some slide hammer action can be added to the other forces i can apply.
i can almost see this working. haha.

[gideon]

Use the sawzall. It seems drastic but you’ll probably resort to the sawzall in the end.  Might as well save time and do it sooner rather than later.

[EuropaTC]

still haven't pulled out the sawsall.
found the bottom of the hinge pin is threaded and seems to accept a 5/16" bolt.
heard of this for later models-?

i am thinking mabe some slide hammer action can be added to the other forces i can apply.
i can almost see this working. haha.

Yep, that's standard and is the designated way to remove the pins in the Workshop Manual.  It sometimes works but will only do so if, when you sit inside the car and watch the pin as you open the door, you see that the pin is stationary and the door is opening with the bushes moving on the pin.  If the whole assembly moves, then it's hacksaw time.....

And despite sounding brutal, it really is the quickest way to remove the doors if the pin's stuck. The first time round I soaked mine in release fluid for days before starting the job and still needed to cut one side. The second time around with a stainless pin I used the slide hammer method on a bit of threaded bar.

[gideon]

got the bottom bushing nut(inside the door) loose, but the hinge pin seems frozen in it and rotates with the door.
the top nut refuses to loosen(yet), but the bushing is free on the pin.....

Reading back through the thread, it sounds as though your odds of getting the hinge pin out with a slider hammer aren't good.

You really don't want to re-use the hinge pin.  Do the future door remover a favour and replace it, and the rest of the hinge hardware, with something much more corrosion resistant. 

[Bodzer]

Cut through them. Life’s too short! Even after getting the hinges out I couldn’t get the pin out. It was almost as if it had been welded together.

Good luck. Serge did a episode on it on his restoration YouTube channel.

[rascott]

i always get good advice here. many thanks.
i did resort to the sawsall.

was able to do it with 2 cuts- one in the middle and the other under the bottom bush.
pulled the top half out the hole i made in the top of the fender.
the nut on the bottom bush was free, so it came out easily(w/frozen pin piece).
the top bush nut is still frozen, but i split a washer so it would fit thru that "square" hole.


found some 1/2" cold roll at my local hardware that should replace the hinge, so if i can salvage these bushings...….

i will apply some grease upon reassembly. 

[BDA]

I would go with the r.d. stainless steel hinge kit. You get everything you need and it will never rust. After that, I'd go with Richard's brass hinge kit. I can't compare which one is better but I have Richard's kit and it's very good and has the advantage that you can take the door off the car and upon remounting it, the only adjustment needed is height - probably the easiest adjustment.

I would NOT use steel bar from the hardware store. It has none of the advantages of either and if it does get seized, there is less ability to get it out than the stock setup.

edit: cleaned up some typos

[EuropaTC]

I would NOT use steel bar from the hardware. It has none of the advantages of either and if it does get seized, there is less ability to get it out than the stock.

Definitely !   If you buy carbon steel rod then it'll start rusting as soon as the grease is squeezed out of the bushes and you'll still have to drill/tap the base for future removal or weld a nut on the end. At the very least buy some 300-series stainless 1/2" rod because at least that isn't going to rust.  I went the 304 SS pin route and retained the OEM steel bushes, but that was only because the alternatives at the time were mild steel or mild steel...   brass/non rusting bushes seem a much better idea if you can get them. 

Before you re-assemble, check the aluminium bobbins in the bodywork for wear against a new 1/2" rod.  If the door has been stuck for a while they tend to wear and if they need sleeving, it's better to find out before you spend ages getting that perfect door alignment !

Brian

[jbcollier]

You can buy bronze bushings in various sizes.  Easy to drill out and fit them.  Given the inevitable neglect, I would still go with an SS pin.

[rascott]

i see no signs this hinge assembly ever had any lubrication.
i maxed out my little 12ton arbor press and pressed the pin out of the lower bush. a bit scary when it let loose!
still haven't destroyed the top bush, but the nut hasn't moved. thought the torch would have helped, but not yet.
rust is just slow welding.

i shall keep my eyes open for some stainless material- i can see the advantage.

this is my practice door.


update today-

ended up cutting the nut and surprised myself at the hardware store by finding a replacement, so i pinned the door back in place-just to see how well it might fit for real.


movement010619-
i have stripped all the red coating off of the door and treated it to some prime and some color. found yellow below the red, so this door was painted twice without a door latch?
i plan on stripping the red off the door opening, and giving it similar attention.
then figure how to install the latch...…….

the window framing has been scratched up a bunch, so i may end up treating/painting it.
mabe.
 
s'more010819-
more of "the lotus" is getting green. pinned the door as a way to hold it as things progress.



'gress011219-
repaired a broken mount tab on the window frame....

think this will look better than the scratched "chrome". we will see.
 

transferred a doorlatch hole pattern to what looked like the right spot....

-cutout what seemed to be in the way...… lot 'o bondo in there.....

this might work.


addon011919-
weather and other life things have reduced playtime, but i have started experimenting with adjusting the door hanging and latch function. encouraging results, so far, but more adjustment experience(time) seems required.
it could be interesting to try some door weather rubber, as that will probably make it fit differently.

[BDA]

Things a coming together. I would just say that normally the "latch" on the door is not adjustable but the "latch" on the door jamb is. If both of yours are adjustable, that may give you more flexibility but it may add another unwanted variable.

[rascott]

bda-
a big variable(to me) was where to put the latch, but the tracing i had from a restoration project made it pretty close the first time.
never discount luck.
soon i will try the outside door handle.

[jbcollier]

Trace it off the door you have and then flip it.

[BDA]

I didn't think of it at the time, but the length of the links from the latch to the handle, at least, will probably be the determining factor in where to mount the latch once that is done as JB says, position of the latch needs to be replicated on the other door. In retrospect, that is an extra variable that can trip you up, but then if you don't have the original location, what else can you do.