hinge pins

[larry harding]

with parts from four different doors and a bit of fabricating I have six useable hinges. I had to drill and drive out the pins, so I am thinking or ordering the oversize (.250) pins. should i ream the holes to .250? i noticed the good holes were a bit larger than the pins giving some clearance. i think the hole in middle piece is larger than the holes in the outer part.

[Russ B]

buy regular and oversized, use what fits, ream only if necessary. Note also that it is critical to make sure that all pins line up when installed on the A pillar. You might want to work on that earlier than later to avoid additional headaches, considering the hinges are from multiple sources.

[Benson]

The original pins were 15/64ths (.234) not .250. At least that is the size of pins on my Coupe.

.250 are the Oversized pins.

Many times folks do not know this and use .250 drift to remove the pins and have very difficult time of removing them.

[larry harding]

some of the holes aren't true or perfectly round so I thought it might be best to clean up to oversize for a better fit.

[Tom Wesenberg]

Originally Posted by larry harding

some of the holes aren't true or perfectly round so I thought it might be best to clean up to oversize for a better fit.

That sounds like the best choice to me also.

[dsarge390]

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If the hinges are strait (not twisted, etc.) then ream them so they are all even. If you are going to use the driver's side top hinge to hang a rearview mirror, make sure the reamed hole will support the bolt properly. I don't know what "A" experience you have, but door fit has alot to do with how strait the chassis is. The P/U chassis were usually abused, so get the chassis strait beforehand. The aftermarket hinges are good, and they come with all of the hardware. Nothing worse than having a nice finished project, and then the doors don't close.

[John]

Larry, what did you use to drill out the hinge pins? I have a mean one that is putting up quite a fight. An air hammer will not move it even with a hinge pin press tightened to the failure point. I tried to drill the tough one and all are of hardened steel. My drill bits will not even "bite" into them nor will a file score the one I did get out. Henry's steel was tough. Any suggestions anyone?

John

[Bob Bidonde]

The best way to go is to use a roll pin. The roll pin is actually a spring and it will fill an oversize hole. Roll pins are made of high strength steel, and I have had them in my Coupe since 1980 without issue. Roll pins are available in Home Depot, ACE Hardware, etc.

Cut the heads off of the original pin leaving about 0.25" length of their shanks. After driving the roll pins into place, press the original pin heads into the hinges.

[larry harding]

i'm a newby at model a's but an old hand at tinkering. here's what I did...
1 st I clamped the part in my mill vice, centered up best I could by eye and went as deep as i could with a 3/16 end mill. 2nd.. went to my drill press and went nearly all the way through with a 7/32 drill bit.
3rd heated the hinge to dull red and with a 3/16 long drift punch and a few wacks with the hammer out it came. did all six this way.I may have wandered a little so i'm going oversize with the pins.

[John]

Thanks Larry. Mine is still on the car, with the pin just laughing at all my efforts. My drill bit won't touch it. I will have to think of Plan C for the pin, whatever that is as Plans A and B have failed.

John

[Mitch//pa]

Originally Posted by John

Larry, what did you use to drill out the hinge pins? I have a mean one that is putting up quite a fight. An air hammer will not move it even with a hinge pin press tightened to the failure point. I tried to drill the tough one and all are of hardened steel. My drill bits will not even "bite" into them nor will a file score the one I did get out. Henry's steel was tough. Any suggestions anyone?

John

get a good quality set of bits... the pins are fairly easy to drill through

i always go up through the bottom about a quarter of the way, until i have a little bit of the pins wall left.. it will then punch right out the top..

[monto]

FYI: There is a Bosch concrete drill bit sold at Home Depot. After breaking a bit while drilling a snapped off 3/8" Henry NF bolt, I ruined a half dozen drills trying to get past the broken bit in the broken bolt. As a last resort, I bought the Bosch drill bit and that thing ate it's way through the bolt, broken bit, and everything in between. Worth a try...........

[larry harding]

I just used regular bits with no problem. if you can't do the mill trick just try to stay centered as possible so as not to damage the holes in your hinges. stop short of going all the way through so the drift punch has something to stop against. good luck.

[old victoria]

ebay...ford model A door hinge repair kits,

[5window]

Originally Posted by John

Larry, what did you use to drill out the hinge pins? I have a mean one that is putting up quite a fight. An air hammer will not move it even with a hinge pin press tightened to the failure point. I tried to drill the tough one and all are of hardened steel. My drill bits will not even "bite" into them nor will a file score the one I did get out. Henry's steel was tough. Any suggestions anyone?

John

Sometimes there's a ridge that has formed as the hinge has worn-almost a shelf that holds the pin, with a worn corresponding ridge, in place against all efforts. Try you pin removal techniques with the door open varying amounts. You need to find the location where the ridge is off the shelf.

[Tim Ayers]

I know this is old post, but curious how you would go about this.

'28 roadster, driver's side lower hinge. Top part is good, lower part is a tad loose. I guess ream both to .250 oversize or I was thinking of knurling the lower part of the pin to keep the top original size.

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Originally Posted by Tim Ayers

I know this is old post, but curious how you would go about this.

'28 roadster, driver's side lower hinge. Top part is good, lower part is a tad loose. I guess ream both to .250 oversize or I was thinking of knurling the lower part of the pin to keep the top original size.

Unfortunately that will not work since the knurled end (-which will now be larger) must go thru the smaller end.

From my perspective, either ream the entire set of hinge loops to 0.250", -or TIG weld the lower end and re-drill. Do not use a MIG weld as the CO2 generally makes the weld metal harder and more difficult to resize. This is one of those things where owning a knee Mill and having a welder can make this task much easier.

[Tim Ayers]

Originally Posted by BRENT in 10-uh-C

Unfortunately that will not work since the knurled end (-which will now be larger) must go thru the smaller end.

From my perspective, either ream the entire set of hinge loops to 0.250", -or TIG weld the lower end and re-drill. Do not use a MIG weld as the CO2 generally makes the weld metal harder and more difficult to resize. This is one of those things where owning a knee Mill and having a welder can make this task much easier.

Ah, right. OK, makes sense. Thank you.