Hammering door hinges... ?

Started by mini420, March 24, 2010, 07:28:31 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

mini420

I wanted to ask for guidance on this before doing it myself.
I need to move my door forward and up a bit.  The door currently hits the door jam and scrapes the top of the rocker arm/body kit.

my buddy who knows a bit recommended hammering the top door hinge to bring it up a lil bit.
put a small block of wood on it and hammer a way checking it to make sure I dont go to far

does this sound about right?

thanks
1980 Morris Mini 1293 Morspeed engine

94touring

That sounds all wrong, lol.  Make spacers from sheet metal and put them on the bottom hinge to prop it up.  The car I finished (VA MINI) had sagging hinges and I bought replacements.  After I got them on it still didn't close perfect,kinda did the same thing you're describing, so I cut out a few spacers and placed them where I needed to get things exactly the way I wanted.  No banging required.  You'll have to drill out holes on your spacers for the studs too.   

mini420

actually my door cant go back anymore or it probably wont close. it needs to go forward as well as up just a lil bit... ?
1980 Morris Mini 1293 Morspeed engine

94touring

First loosen the nuts from the studs under the wing, then see how it will work just by lifting the door into position.  You'll know for sure then.  Seems odd the door is too big for the frame.     

94touring

Hey also the metal where the hinges are mounted is fairly thick and sturdy.  The amount of hammering required to move it may shatter your glass. 

mini420

ill have a look at it again today. but i dont have time to take the door off as im taking it to have the dash looked at tomorrow so they can fab it.

the door isnt too big its just sitting too far back. the passenger door has even spacing front and back. back being to the rear of the car...
the driver door has more space to the front. ill get some detailed pics.

i heard the hammer option from multiple people... but does seem odd
1980 Morris Mini 1293 Morspeed engine

MPlayle

Internal hinges or external hinges?

If external hinges, loosen the nuts/bolts that hold the hinges to the door and to the A-panel.  Do NOT removes them, just loosen slightly.  Then use cardboard to shim the desired spacing all around the door (shim all 4 sides) with the door closed.  Then tighten the nuts/bolts of the hinges.  Be very careful to NOT over-tighten!

If internal hinges, both the top and bottom hinges may already be shimmed too far back.  For these you have to work in stages: opening the door to loosen/shim a hinge, tighten, then check how that changed the adjustment.  Start with the bottom hinge.  Loosen the large screws holding the hinge to the door (you may have to remove the hinge entirely) and the screws holding the hinge to the door frame.  There is some movement in the captive nuts in order to allow for such adjustments.  You will first be trying to determine where any shims already are.  You will likely need to remove some of the existing shims in equal amounts top and bottom in order to "pull" the door straight forward.  Work one side of one hinge at a time to try to reduce any up/down changes.  Do one side of the bottom hinge, then the same side of the top hinge, then back to the other side of the bottom hinge, then the remaining side of the top hinge.

Most of all, be patient.


mini420

They are internal hinges. I took some pics of the gaps. I looked atthe hinges but did not take pics of it. It looked like its shimmed up pretty good.
I dont see how I can remove them without taking the door off. In your advice it sounds like ti can be done withthe door on though...
I didnt speend much time looking at them though.

heres the door. driver and passernger front gaps, then rear gaps.
ok I thought I could get image codes from my album. not sure if I can. Here is a link to the album
http://www.restorationmini.com/forum/index.php?action=media;sa=album;in=36
1980 Morris Mini 1293 Morspeed engine

94touring

Yeah they may already be shimmed to the max.  I noticed that half the doors I've taken off have a shim or two.  You have no option but to take the door off to remove or add shims.  Helps if you have a helper to steady the door, but a couple spare tires or a sturdy box placed under the door that is partially open will work too in a pinch.  I took the drivers door off on the VA Mini 4 times to get it right.     

MPlayle

It does look to already be shimmed a lot, which will indeed push the door back like yours is.  It is often a close thing as to whether the shims can be removed without fully removing the hinge screws or not.  It depends on what type of shims were originally used.  One car I had used slotted shims that would remove without taking the hinge all the way off, another used un-slotted and required full removal of the screws.

As Dan (94touring) says, it takes several tries and usually works best with a helper.

Start by figuring out how it is currently shimmed and plan to start by removing equal shimming top and bottom.  You should not have to remove much of the shimming already there.

mini420

Yeah i had a good look at it today and it appears only the top hinge is shimmed.. the bottom hinge is flush.
I took some pics with phone and will upload latter. 

Hopefully the shimms have notches in them, but probably not with my luck.  At anyrate  I should be able to get this done over the weekend. Doors arent hard to get off.  Just need to be patient since they look nice now. I will post pics whine done or if I hit any speed bumbs. 

I feel much better about this than hammering away....
1980 Morris Mini 1293 Morspeed engine

94touring

One other tip, when you retorque the nuts on the studs, don't over do it and bust them off!  If they are rusted up bad it may happen anyways.  I think I broke all but one on the last car just taking them off they were rusted so bad. 

mini420

well thanks for making me nervous as hell dan. i guess if they dont break off the car actually is in great shape....
1980 Morris Mini 1293 Morspeed engine

94touring

LOL, GBcarts.com sells sets of 4 for a hundred bucks and ships quick.  At least the ones I did broke taking them off so I can't blame myself.  I do know they will strip easy and or bust torquing them back on from a bad experience years ago.  Snug with a ratchet seems to work just fine. 

MPlayle

Dan,

Are you referring to the nuts/bolts for the external hinges or the screws for the internal hinges?  As I recall, the internal hinges had large phillip head screws into captive nuts in the door and frame.


94touring

Talking about the studs on the hinges.  Its pretty difficult to take the doors off by taking the hinges off from the doors.   

MPlayle

I never had much problem getting the hinges off the doors.  I usually tried to loosen the screws on the doors first: spray a little penetrating oil or WD-40 around the screws.  Then using a large screwdriver that fit snugly into the heads, apply twisting to unscrew and tap the end of the screwdriver with a hammer at the same time (as per a manual impact driver).  They usually popped right free.  I would only loosen them back and forth enough to ensure them were free, them repeat with the screws to hold the hinge to the outer frame.  While loosening the screws, I usually figured out which side had the shims and would remove from that side and adjust as needed.


mini420

well i finished my door today too. posted new pic in the link earlier.
the shims were between the hinge and the body. not the door. so it was really easy unbolting from within the wheel well
they werent notched so i had to take the whole door off but still pretty easy.

only the top was shimmed. and the bottom cant move any more forward as there are no shims... any ideas on how i can move the bottom more forward or do i just have to live with it? i thought about shaving the hinge on the door side making it thinner and moving it forward....

1980 Morris Mini 1293 Morspeed engine

94touring

I saw the pic and I guess if there are no shims then you have to live with it or try your hammer idea.  How bad is it rubbing still?

mini420

it isnt rubbing at all. its closer good and dosnt hit.
im just being picky i guess. the gap isnt even from top to bottom.
i should just be happy i have it where it is. could be worse with how some minis go together

there will be no hammering. the metal there isnt anything really. maybe if it was real thick like on some old chevys or the like
but not so much on a mini. even finally got  off  my butt and lowered her some more. it has the fully adjustable suspension
ive just been lazy
1980 Morris Mini 1293 Morspeed engine