On Fri, 13 Nov 2015 09:04:52 -0500, "Jim Wilkins"
wrote:

"Terry Coombs" wrote in message
...
A few days ago I posted about putting bushings in worn hinges for a
'54('55 ?) Lincoln restoration . Well , I picked up the other 3 and
got them home - the first was a piece of cake - and tried to remove
the pins . TRIED being the operative word here . Tap on the end of
the pin and ... nothing , so smack it a little harder and ... nothing
. OK , get a bigger hammer , and a punch since the end of the pin is
beginning to deform and ... nothing . OK , put a little oil on them
and let them sit while I machine a slug with a pin on one end to try
pressing them out . 12 ton jack in a homemade frame , and I used
every ounce it had . Result is the pin on the end of the slug now
looks like a little teeny barrel , it was so cute ! Heat and a pin of
better steel had the same result ... so I decided to see if a chisel
under the head would do anything , and discovered that at least 2 had
broken pins . I did manage to drill one of the broken ones out ...
So I called my guy and told him this ain't working , can he get
some hinges from the donor car and see if they're any easier . He
does , and then tells me these difficult hinges have been sitting
half a mile from the beach out in California for the last 20 years
... no wonder they're frozen ! I've got 2 more to do now , plan to
get them out this AM and get them delivered .

--
Snag

The other day I replaced the hinge bushings on a neighbor's 199? Chevy
2500. These are the bushings meant to be pressed evenly into the
hinges with a bolt through the center, NOT beaten in with a BFH.

The door now aligns with the fender at the front edge, but not so well
with the body at the rear, and takes an excessive slam to fully latch.
Unlike my Ford the hinges are welded to the body and door, and the
latch doesn't seem to allow adjustment.

Are you sure about the latch and post? The post the latch grabs is
the most common pivoting point for adjustment, but latches are usually
able to be rotated. (generic, not just Chevy)


I got it somewhat better with
a wood wedge and his buddys' brute strength. What's the correct way to
align a Chevy pickup door?

Chevy? Scrap it. g

Key question: Has the truck been wrecked before?

Where is the impingement? Since a welded hinge can't be shimmed on
the outside to allow the door to close, you'll have to rotate the
pillar with a wee pull from a 20T frame alignment post.

Alternatively, I've seen the frame guys insert a piece of metal
between the hinge leaves to make such an adjustment on something back
in the early '80s. Controlled bending. Me? I prefer bolts and
shims, but I'm no Chebby engineer.
(thank Crom)

P.S: Check the gaps after each tweak. Beat with a sledge to undo.
Chebby engineers are into "primal" bodywork.

--
The most powerful factors in the world are clear
ideas in the minds of energetic men of good will.
-- J. Arthur Thomson