The Ford Barn

Vern · 11-02-2011, 10:56 PM

It appears that someone attempted to remove the door hinge screws on my Victoria with a Tim Allen "Binford Blow Torch & Air Chisel" combo tool. Any advice on getting them out / loose now that they are all buggered up? Thanks

Tom Wesenberg · 11-03-2011, 02:34 AM

Worst case, you might have to weld a nut to the screw, let it cool, then try a wrench on it. Soak it wil Kroil also.

Yep, someone certaily messed up that paint with a torch.

jw hash · 11-03-2011, 07:02 AM

I have removed a lot of door hinge screws that were in worse shape then yours. first of all do not drill them out until all else fails, there is still enough of slot to get them out, there two ways to get them out. on the front side of the window post there is a hole right above the hinge that you can get a torch in you can heat them up three or four times and spray some original windex on them and most of them will screw right out if that doesn`t do it, the bolts are 5/16 fine thread drill a 3/16 hole in the middle of the bolts and heat them again force cool with windex use an easy out a again they should come out

Kevin in NJ · 11-03-2011, 07:06 AM

Try harder to get them out intact. You do NOT want to get repro screws and you do not want to hurt the original washers or cup lock washers as you will need to reuse them.

Ok, they sometimes just do not want to come out. I got all mine to come loose after more than one heat cool cycle on my 68C. It took some work to make happen and was not trivial.
Given what I know now, I would first try heating them up again and as they cool down get some penetrating fluid or I have also heard wax on them while hot. The heat will help draw in the lubricant, but you have to wait until the area is just cool enough so it does not just turn the oil to smoke.
When you do the weld the washer/nut on with a TIG welder you will find it does not work without putting a penetrating fluid in while it cools. I found this out by accident

Given how easy the studs came out after I did the penetrating fluid step while hot I can see how it may help in other places. You can read about the TIG welding technique on Vince Falters website.
I have not been working with stuck screws recently to try out some of the stuff I have learned since I last played.
Some times beating on them works. You might try an impact driver. The hand kind where you twist the body and hit it and it gives a shock to the screw. I would certainly take some solid whacks on the screwdriver end. Shock and heat are the two friends that will help you free these screws. This is where some of those old screwdrivers with the metal shank through the handle come in handy.

There is also some technique to getting the screws to move. Seems most people feel you just get in and start a twisting hard and see what happens. There is a lot of learned feel that successful people have.
You must push down on the screw a lot. You need to be well engaged to whatever the slot is you are trying to move. Sometimes you need to fix the slot with a dremel and a thin cut off wheel. I recommend a large quantity of fibered cut off wheels as they can be used for fine grinding of details when welding. The twist is the next thing to master. While press down hard, you slowly start adding in in the torque. You need to feel the screw. If it moves you need to ask yourself if it is the whole screw actually turning or is it is the metal giving way as it is ready to break off? These hinge screws are pretty stout so you are not likely to have a problem with them breaking. You are going to have a problem with the heads wanting to stay intact. Oh, sometimes you need to consider a vice grip on your screwdriver for extra torque and control.

For reference. The repro screws are just wrong. They may work, but they clearly do not fit and do not look right and the stick out too far. I have a whole set of them I would give you. I made nasty original look decent cause they work properly. They are kind of hidden too.
You can make some of these screws look decent by putting them in a battery drill and dressing them with a fine file as you slowly spin them.

Richard Wilson · 11-03-2011, 07:36 AM

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Two years ago I gave up on trying to remove the hinges from the door post on my Victoria project and am glad that I did. I was able to remove the doors for restoration by removing the hinge pins. Now that the body is restored and the doors have been rehung they fit perfectly. It the hinges are not broken or damaged I would leave them.

11-02-2011, 10:56 PM	#1
Vern Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Spring Valley Calif. Posts: 616	Victoria door hinge advice It appears that someone attempted to remove the door hinge screws on my Victoria with a Tim Allen "Binford Blow Torch & Air Chisel" combo tool. Any advice on getting them out / loose now that they are all buggered up? Thanks Last edited by Vern; 05-30-2020 at 08:07 PM.

11-03-2011, 02:34 AM	#2
Tom Wesenberg Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Mpls, MN Posts: 27,582	Re: Victoria door hinge advice Worst case, you might have to weld a nut to the screw, let it cool, then try a wrench on it. Soak it wil Kroil also. Yep, someone certaily messed up that paint with a torch.

11-03-2011, 07:02 AM	#3
jw hash Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Auburn Washington Posts: 2,662	Re: Victoria door hinge advice I have removed a lot of door hinge screws that were in worse shape then yours. first of all do not drill them out until all else fails, there is still enough of slot to get them out, there two ways to get them out. on the front side of the window post there is a hole right above the hinge that you can get a torch in you can heat them up three or four times and spray some original windex on them and most of them will screw right out if that doesn`t do it, the bolts are 5/16 fine thread drill a 3/16 hole in the middle of the bolts and heat them again force cool with windex use an easy out a again they should come out

11-03-2011, 07:06 AM	#4
Kevin in NJ Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: South East NJ Posts: 3,398	Re: Victoria door hinge advice Try harder to get them out intact. You do NOT want to get repro screws and you do not want to hurt the original washers or cup lock washers as you will need to reuse them. Ok, they sometimes just do not want to come out. I got all mine to come loose after more than one heat cool cycle on my 68C. It took some work to make happen and was not trivial. Given what I know now, I would first try heating them up again and as they cool down get some penetrating fluid or I have also heard wax on them while hot. The heat will help draw in the lubricant, but you have to wait until the area is just cool enough so it does not just turn the oil to smoke. When you do the weld the washer/nut on with a TIG welder you will find it does not work without putting a penetrating fluid in while it cools. I found this out by accident Given how easy the studs came out after I did the penetrating fluid step while hot I can see how it may help in other places. You can read about the TIG welding technique on Vince Falters website. I have not been working with stuck screws recently to try out some of the stuff I have learned since I last played. Some times beating on them works. You might try an impact driver. The hand kind where you twist the body and hit it and it gives a shock to the screw. I would certainly take some solid whacks on the screwdriver end. Shock and heat are the two friends that will help you free these screws. This is where some of those old screwdrivers with the metal shank through the handle come in handy. There is also some technique to getting the screws to move. Seems most people feel you just get in and start a twisting hard and see what happens. There is a lot of learned feel that successful people have. You must push down on the screw a lot. You need to be well engaged to whatever the slot is you are trying to move. Sometimes you need to fix the slot with a dremel and a thin cut off wheel. I recommend a large quantity of fibered cut off wheels as they can be used for fine grinding of details when welding. The twist is the next thing to master. While press down hard, you slowly start adding in in the torque. You need to feel the screw. If it moves you need to ask yourself if it is the whole screw actually turning or is it is the metal giving way as it is ready to break off? These hinge screws are pretty stout so you are not likely to have a problem with them breaking. You are going to have a problem with the heads wanting to stay intact. Oh, sometimes you need to consider a vice grip on your screwdriver for extra torque and control. For reference. The repro screws are just wrong. They may work, but they clearly do not fit and do not look right and the stick out too far. I have a whole set of them I would give you. I made nasty original look decent cause they work properly. They are kind of hidden too. You can make some of these screws look decent by putting them in a battery drill and dressing them with a fine file as you slowly spin them.

11-03-2011, 07:36 AM	#5
Richard Wilson Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: NC Posts: 908	Re: Victoria door hinge advice Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) Two years ago I gave up on trying to remove the hinges from the door post on my Victoria project and am glad that I did. I was able to remove the doors for restoration by removing the hinge pins. Now that the body is restored and the doors have been rehung they fit perfectly. It the hinges are not broken or damaged I would leave them.