Door Hinges questions
 

I have a 63 f100. When i bought it the driver door would drop when opening the door and was difficult to close without slamming the door. I have since found a number of problems with the door hinges and where they mount. The first problem i saw was that the hinges moved when i would pull up and down on the door with it open. I saw that a few of the bolts were not even tight. So i tried to tighten them to no avail. I took the bolts out and found that a few were incorrect. As in the normal bolts were coarse thread and a couple of the other bolts were fine thread. so i took the door off the truck and took the hinges off the door. I cleaned up the threads on the flat side that mounts to the door and got new bolts for the ones that were wrong. I am not familiar with the adjustments of the door but it looks like all the bolts are able to be adjusted from the slotting. I also found that on the bottom hinge where it mounts to the door frame only one of the holes has threads (the top one) the bottom one had threads but they are stripped now, and the 2 inner bolt holes have nothing. I am not sure how to fix this problem. I am probably going to have to weld a plate on that has threads or nuts bolted to the backside of the plate. That is the only thing i can think of. the other hole i might be able to tap out to a bigger size. so my questions are :
#1 what do you think is the best way to fix my hinge bolt holes? or can i get by with just 2 on the bottom?
#2 what is the proper way to adjust the door once i get the holes fixed?

This problem has also damaged the cowl ( i guess you would call it that since it is not part of the fender) by bending it so i will need to fix that as well.

I too have bolt hole issues. Get Helicoils and carefully follow the directions. They are made exactly for problems like this. They will work.
Door adjustment is a matter of trial and error. Get a floor jack with a 2X4 to support the door and start the process. Try to get the door into the opening with an even gap all around. Do this by loosening the 6 door bolts and moving the door according to your gaps. Then when satisfied loosen the hinge bolts to get the door flush with the body. In the old days Ford actually used a door bending fixture for this purpose. Restorers have been known to cut off or add to door edges to get the gaps right. Thats too extreme for me. In some cases if the truck has been hit you may never achieve consistent gaps or flush fit. Do the best you can and Live with it - its a 50 year old truck.

The lower hinge bolts are accessible through the vent door. And you can use a nut and washer if the nut plate is stripped. I rebuild door hinges by drilling and installing valve guides in the center section and reaming it to fit new door pins available at Fastenall. To install the door, remove the latch and with all hinge bolts loose (door and cowl). Set the door in the cab and support it on wooden shims. The shims should be about 1/2 inch thick to start. Add or remove shim material as needed. Be sure the door is high enough in the cab so that the cowl and top of the door (buy the mirror hole) are level. Same goes for the rear of the door by the body line (near the fuel filler). Add shims until these two points line up. Now line up the door top, bottom, front and rear. You can move the door in towards the center of the truck by slapping the door with your hand. Now get in the truck and tighten the door/hinge bolts. Open the door just enough to get a wrench on the two outer cowl hinge bolts. Tighten them and carefully open the door watching the door/fender clearance. Tighten the other two cowl/hinge bolts. Remove the shims and check your work. Patience is needed. The wooden shims hold the door at the right height and with all the bolts loose you can slide it forward or back or slap/push it in as needed. Taping the forward edge of the door and the trailing edge of the fender is a good idea. Take your time. Let the shims do the work of supporting the door.