door hinge questions

[JamesR]

With the help of many of you, most of my driver's side door (and door related) issues are pretty much resolved. Thanks!

Now I'm moving on to the passenger's side door. I haven't used the passenger door much in the year that I've owned the car, so I'm rather embarrassed to say that it wasn't until yesterday that I determined that the obnoxious noise I was hearing when opened the pass. door wasn't the hinge, but the leading edge of the exterior door panel (skin) rubbing slightly against the trailing edge of the front fender panel. The gap at the back of the door is obviously wider than the gap at the front of the door. I'm guessing the door needs to move back 1/16" maybe (???) The interference hasn't been enough to damage the panel edges or even rub off the paint much, but that's definitely the source of the noise.

The shop manual gives some guidance on the repair for this issue (adjusting the hinge) but I'm finding that the '65 Thunderbird shop manual is often a bit more vague than the shop manual I've been using for my '54 Ranch Wagon over the last several years. The problem is that the pillar mounted hinge bolts for the door are much less accessible than the door mounted hinge bolts. (This is because there are a few small metal panels that at the rear end of the front fender...all visible when you open the pass. door.) The manual doesn't say how to get around this.

I could remove the fender, but it seems like a more convenient option on the '65 T-Bird would be to remove the rear inner fender well panel (of the front well) for access. This panel on the driver's side had been removed for some reason when I'd bought the car, and the pillar hinge bolts on that side look very accessible. Would this be the correct approach? Any reason that wouldn't work? I'm thinking I'll put right front of the car on jack stands and remove the tire for better access.

The manual says to use a "padded pry bar" to adjust the door once the hinges are loosened slightly, but I'm not sure how this would work (at least with the fender still on.) Is this even a job I should try by my lonesome? A Thunderbird door is a lot heavier than a Mustang or Chevelle door of the same era. Any hints are appreciated.

[jtschug]

There are small screws that hold those gap filler panels in place, remove those and you should be able to get access to the hinge bolts. You do not need to remove the fender

[Terry64HT]

A few years ago I replaced all my hinge pins, which made a big difference to the door alignment. I couple of things I found that might help.

Support the car on blocks or jack stands so that when you pry or lift the door, the car doesn't sway on the suspension.
When you loosen the bolts enough for the hinge to move, it can easily get out of control. Protect the edge of the door and the front fender.
These doors are heavy!!! Support it before you begin to loosen any hinge bolts. If you are able, a sling attached to the roof might be a good solution. I didn't have that option so I built a cradle for the door to sit in.
If you are just loosening the bolts to reposition the door, ratcheting box wrenches work pretty well. I'd removed my bolts to replace the pins and getting the inner bolts into the door frame was a real treat. I had large needle nose pliers, the bolt secured in a ratcheting box and lots of time.
Hope this helps
Terry
64HT

[JamesR]

Thanks for the suggestion guys.

At first I didn't like the idea of taking those "gap filler panels" out because I thought I might have to pry and bend them to get them out after removing the screws, but I can now see that removing them will probably give me better access to all the pillar side hinge bolts. I originally hadn't noticed that there are FOUR bolts per each hinge just on the pillar side. Two of them on each hinge should be immediately behind the gap filler panel so I guess that's what I'll have to do.

Terry, I like the idea of a roof mounted sling. Why couldn't you use that approach on your car? Was it a convertible? I'm thinking that super long pick up truck tie down straps (padded, of course) would be nice for the sling because they're adjustable, but I don't know if they make any long enough. I guess I could also use some jack stands and shims under the inner door structure as a redundant precautionary measure.

[cacockrum]

A couple additional thoughts: It may be possible to eliminate the interference by adjusting the rear portion of the fender in or out by loosening the bolts where it attaches to the pillar plus the recessed one where it attaches to the underneath side of the rocker panel. Also, I found it helpful to remove the inner fender shield when trying to access the door hinge bolts without removing the fender. As I recall, removing the fender is a bit of a pain as it involves removing the head light assembly along with several bolts that may not want to cooperate because of rust etc.

[JamesR]

A couple additional thoughts: It may be possible to eliminate the interference by adjusting the rear portion of the fender in or out by loosening the bolts where it attaches to the pillar plus the recessed one where it attaches to the underneath side of the rocker panel. Also, I found it helpful to remove the inner fender shield when trying to access the door hinge bolts without removing the fender. As I recall, removing the fender is a bit of a pain as it involves removing the head light assembly along with several bolts that may not want to cooperate because of rust etc.

Wow, interesting idea about adjusting the fender instead of the door. I think what I might do is take some photos of both my door gaps at both the front edge and rear edge of the door and see what you guys think. The front gap is noticeably narrower than the rear gap.

[dmtinker]

I replaced my passenger door due to some rust issues. The new door sags about 1/4 inch. I'm inclined to shim the lower hinge as accessing the hinge seems to be a pain. Thoughts?

[Terry64HT]

It's not really that big a deal to replace the hinge pins. If wear is causing the door to sag enough that you're thinking of shimming it, then the pin bushings are in pretty poor shape. Shimming will probably only be a temporary fix. I have photos somewhere that I can post if you want.
Terry
64HT

[dmtinker]

Actually, I put in a single shim from a pack I got from Autozone (the thinnest) and it worked fine. I only had to raise the door about 1/8 of an inch.
Thanks!