Droopy doors

[Terry64HT]

The doors on my 64 hardtop, especially the passenger side, ride up on the shoulder of the door jamb, just above the latch when they close. Enough that the paint is worn.
I assume that the hinge pins or bushings are worn, but there is no up and down play in the door when it is open. I don't want to start adjusting the hinges when I can't see any sign that they've shifted, but I also don't see an easy way to replace the pins and bushings.
Anyone have any experience with this?
Thanks
Terry
64HT

 

[Nitrous Bob]

Terry,
Check to see if the door jamb, where the hinges bolt on, are weak or cracked. I picked up a pair of doors for a '66, a one was weakened on the lower hinge. The doors on my '66 and the pair I picked up, were very rusty behind the hinge. Luckily, mine hadn't gotten weak in this area. Yet.
These doors a heavy and a lot of leverage on the hinges over time.

 

[Terry64HT]

I have checked the mounting of the hinges to the door frames, even inspecting them from the inside with a mirror and light when I had the door panels off (that's another story). They seem solid and when I try to flex the door up and down when it is fully opened, I don't see or feel any significant movement.
Hinge pins and bushings aren't expensive and I'd get a set, but I don't see any way to change them without taking off the door assembly.
Terry
64HT

 

[rzcrisis]

Terry...how are the gaps door to front fender, door to rocker, door to rear quarter? If they are skewed you may need to adjust the hinges if there is not play. On my 64 HT passenger door was doing the same type of thing as you described. Gap was closer from door to rear quarter than drivers side. Having original paint on door posts I could not see if the hinges had slipped or not over time. I took a fine sharpie marker and marked the location of both upper and lower hinge at front fender to have a reference and then slowly and in very small increments loosened the hinge bolts and using my hydraulic jack under the door when open tried different positions until I was able to get the door to fit properly. A reminder.....once you add new door rubbers to the mix the fit will be tighter but will self adjust over time (especially with a few days outside in the sun).

Hope this helps
Randy

 

[Terry64HT]

When the doors are closed, the gaps are even. As I close the door, it rides up on the shoulder of the door jam (just above the door striker plate) and on the protrusion near the top. The paint is worn off at both these locations (see the arrows in the photo). The hinge bolts are all tight, but with the door open, it doesn't seem to move up and down when I try by hand. If it did, I would know it's the hinge pin bushings. I've looked closely and there is no visible indication that the hinges have shifted at all.
The more I look at it, the more I suspect the bushings, but I can't figure out how they are replaced.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Terry
64HT

 

[Nitrous Bob]

I really can't say just now. I'm out of town til Thursday evening. When I get back, I'll look at my '66. I don't know if you held the weight of the door when opened, you could possibly use a long punch and change the bushings' one hinge at a time.

 

[65BLUBIRD]

You guys are in a different league than me. I would almost leave well enough alone in this case. I show the same type of wear but my doors shut with a nice thunk and not willing to mess with it just yet. Not bad for 50 year old car. Will be interested in what you come up with.

 

[rzcrisis]

Hi Terry

After looking at your pic I am thinking it may be that the door strike plate is shifted up, pulling the door up when closing and engaging the strike post. You say the gaps are good but is the door in or out in terms of the door back edge to rear quarter edge or even? Do you have door rubbers installed or not? That will affect fit. I did need to adjust my drivers side strike post a bit for a better fit so maybe this is it and not your hinges at all.

Randy

 

[Terry64HT]

Randy, thanks for these suggestions. I looked at the doors and, while the rubber bumpers are in place, but they are not in great shape. I have new ones, as well as new weatherstrip that I was going to install once I got the drooping issue resolved. When I close to door until it just touches the latch, the top of the window at the rear is down from the roof rail weatherstrip by almost 3/16". When I push the door closed, it shifts up and the window is tight to the weatherstrip. This leads me to suspect the latch is in the proper place since the door is correct when it is engaged.
It's this shifting up in the last inch or so of the door closing that has me baffled.
Thanks everyone for the suggestions
Terry
64HT

 

[rzcrisis]

Maybe try the new rubbers and weatherstripping and see if this helps.

Randy

 

[Terry64HT]

That seems the most sensible way to go. It's getting too cold here to do any work on the car and I'm getting ready to go south for the winter so it will be my first job in the spring. I'd planned to pick up hinge pins and bushings if they seemed to be a possible solution since I buy most of my parts while in Florida.
Since hinge pins and bushings are readily available, they must be a problem for many, so I'd still like to know how to change them.
Thanks everyone for the advice and suggestions. If anyone has any more info, let me know.
Terry
64HT

 

[Terry64HT]

Over the winter I picked up a set of hinge pins and bushings and tackled the job last week. Not as difficult as I’d feared. I thought I’d share with the forum.
I supported both the car and the door with jacks so they would be as solid as possible and then put padding between the door and the fender. Even though the jack should hold the door with a hinge out, I didn’t want it to shift and hit the car.
I marked tape with a line and then stuck it to the hinge plates, making sure it was folded into the joint and then slit the joint with a knife. There are 4 bolts into the body and 3 into the door, and the two rear body ones are well back into the fender. Only one on each hinge is tough to get at, and I used a ratcheting wrench and an extra long set of needle nosed pliers to hold it during removal so it doesn’t disappear into the fender and to get it lined up with the hole to start it during replacement. Worked fine.
The photo is of the top hinge on the bench, the bottom one has a spring in it but you don’t have to touch it. Both come apart and assemble exactly the same by driving out the pin with a punch and knocking out the 2 bushings. The top bushing was out of round by a lot and the pin was sloppy, definitely due for replacement. The new bushings press in easily with a bench vice.
Once the top hinge was back in, I removed the lower one and did the same. Even with the jack support, the door is so heavy that it sagged towards the car with only the top hinge in. Be careful.
With everythng back together, I tweaked the top hinge adjustment a very small amount and the door closes perfectly now.
The pins and bushings are only about $10 for the whole car, mine were universal replacement ones and the pins were a little long, but that won’t hurt anything. Well worth considering if you have door alignment problems, especially riding up on the hip of the door jamb.
Hope this helps
Terry
64HT

 

[sseebart]

Fantastic write-up Terry. I hadn't even considered worn hinges when looking at the alignment problems on my doors--this is something I'll definitely be doing soon.

~Steve