I have a 49 super sedan in restoration that has come to a stand-still trying to figure out how to align the front driver's door. It is a solid door and appears to have good hinge pins as I can not feel any looseness when I lift on the door. However, the rear edge of the door strikes the front edge of the rear door as it closes. The repair manual is of little help as it talks about bending the hinges to get a alignment. I am hesitant to remove the door fearing I will have a bigger mess. I really only need to create an adequate gap between the front and rear door. Any ideas will be helpful. If removing the door in necessary, what is the best way to remove the screws holding the hinge to the front pillar. I appreciate any thoughts.
Moved to the "Hudson" forum category
Thanks for moving this to the correct forum. I thought I originally posted it to the Hudson forum.
Is the gap uniformly tight, or just at top? A sagging front door would do this. If uniformly tight, that's kinda strange. Would suggest door hinge area has been forcibly moved rearward. How about some pics? Same on both sides.
Is the gap uniformly tight, or just at top? A sagging front door would do this. If uniformly tight, that's kinda strange. Would suggest door hinge area has been forcibly moved rearward. How about some pics? Same on both sides?
Hudson used a door hinge bender according to the manual. I have never seen one but made a tool up that works very well.
Or you can use a porter power. I could "feel" better when using the tool I made up.
https://1drv.ms/f/s!AlqXTowCsi4UoSCimnadmjL5IMlI
Here is a link to pictures on onedrive.
Another thing about using the hinge tool over tge porta power, its much easier to reverse if you bend a tad to far.
Here are some photos of both the passenger and driver side doors. You'll see that the passenger side gap is a bit wide at the top and narrows just a little towards the bottom. However, the horizontal lines align well so I don't want to alter that. (Ignore the Bondo...that's someone else's handy-work and will be removed.) The driver's side is quite a different story. The door alignment to the roof line is pretty good. It starts to get tight at the upper portion of the front door to rear door though there is still a gap. Then the door interferes at the crease in the belt line all the way to the bottom of the door. Hopefully these inspire some suggestions.
[quote="Kerry Dancy" post=18824]Another thing about using the hinge tool over tge porta power, its much easier to reverse if you bend a tad to far.
Kerry...I like porta=power and hinge tool. Does the front pillar have enough stiffness so that the hinge bends rather than twist the pillar? Tried doing a little bending with a long pry bar but the pillar seemed to do all the movement.
[quote="Kerry Dancy" post=18824]Another thing about using the hinge tool over tge porta power, its much easier to reverse if you bend a tad to far.
Kerry...I've been studying the hinge tool you made. Can you use the tool with the door attached? I assume the three bolts are placed on either side of the exposed portion of the hinge that extends from the pillar. Is that correct?
Gary, make sure the A piller is properly attached/welded in place and not rusted out at the bottom.
On the tool, i pull out the back single bolt, place the tool into position against the hinge, pop the bolt back in place then apply pressure
In the direction i want to bend. This is done with the door installed. If i want to change sides, i flip the tool over. Notice the handle angle
Is not 90 degrees.
Great info Kerry, thank you. Gary, also take a look at frame underneath door, to ensure not bent upward, and try to ascertain if there was a front impact that could explain the rearward displacement of the A pillar. Because, according to your gaps, if a ram is going to be used to bend a hinge forward, it is the lower hinge- a bit unusual.
[quote="Kerry Dancy" post=18829]Gary, make sure the A piller is properly attached/welded in place and not rusted out at the bottom.
On the tool, i pull out the back single bolt, place the tool into position against the hinge, pop the bolt back in place then apply pressure
In the direction i want to bend. This is done with the door installed. If i want to change sides, i flip the tool over. Notice the handle angle
Is not 90 degrees.
Kerry...I now see how it is used. Very clever. Thank you! How long is the bar that extends from the hinge attachment point?
The frame is really pretty solid at the A-pillar. However, I haven't looked recently. This is a restoration I'm getting back into after several idle years. The car did sit on jack stands for several years during the idle periods. The front jack stands were at the frame under the cowl. Even without the engine in place, do think the frame would have sagged under the weight of the cantilevered front end? Doesn't seem plausible particularly since this problem doesn't appear on the passenger side. The car has been back on its tires for about the last two years.
Gary, if everything looks good and solid you should be in good shape.
I purposely left the handle short for maneuverability while using. It is made so i can slip on a longer bar to give more leverage if needed.
It doesnt take much! The hinge bends easier than you might believe.
I want to thank Ken Cates and Doug Wildrick whom gave me the initial info for using the porter power, that info and usage led me to build the hinge tool.
Kerry knows way more than I do but that could explain the closing gaps. I lifted my car the exact same way, with all the engine weight suspended forward of the jacks, and I could not open doors without scraping paint at the gaps. My problem ceased when I quickly moved the jack stands forward, but time may be a factor here. Has the car been driven much to see if the front would settle? Any other members have this same experience, or am I the only one?
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