This is all very good info, which I could have used in 1993, while removing the hinge to cab screws on my truck. Ended up having to drill out both sides. Destroyed all but one thread. If you want an exercise in patience, try mounting hinges with allen head tapered bolts and nuts. There are a couple that are very close to impossible due to access problems.

 

I used an air powered die grinder to cut as much of the screw head off as possible. (That wasn't much), and then I took a drill bit and drilled into the bolt. Since the bolts are counter sunk you only have to drill past the counter sunk head. Once you get the hole drilled past the head they just pop right off.
The bolts however, are still very stuck in the hinge recess.

The hige bolts aren't a problem anymore. I ordered a set of hidden hinge plans from a guy on Ebay. They aren't as pretty as some of the hinges I have looked at, but they seem like they are going to work.
I hope to add some pics to my gallery if I ever find the time to get them welded to the truck. The guy said they could be manufactured with ordinary tools, but I found that to be less than acurate. I don't know about the rest of you guys, but I don't have anything that will neatly bend 3/8 x 1 1/2 inch steel bar. I had to take mine to the local blacksmith (yes we still have one in my town, and its a she. Make fun of her... I dare you).
If this college thing ever leaves me some free time I will get them welded in. Until then check out the pics of the hinges as they sit on my bench I posted them in my gallery. They still need to be cleaned up and painted, and the bulky square bit gets welded into the door pillar and will be invisible. All that sticks out is the 3/8 inch bar that the door gets bolted to.

 

I had a similar experience with a set of stuck hinge pins on an old VW Bug. On VWs, I normally just use my air chisel with a pointed-tip attachment and drive the pins out. These particular hinge pins would not budge. I ended up spraying them with Kroil, two times a day for a week. I ended up using the the c-clamp door hinge pin removal tool that you have, and was able to get the pins to move. Once they broke free, I sprayed them with more Kroil and was able to use my air chisel to drive the pins out the rest of the way.

 

on my hinge pins I had to cut the tops of the pins off, then drive them out from the top down. after you get the knurled part to move, they came right out. as for replacements, Mac's antique had them for really cheap prices. just drive the new one's in when you remount the doors.
what I don't know is how to get the door to percetly align. It seems to me that you must have to bend the hinges on the door to make it come out just perfect. I'm not surprised, because all the doors I have on all of the trucks have the drivers hinge ripped out of the rivets. any help there would be apreciated.
Howard

 

Now That's a good question. Since the hinges are only removable on one side (the door frame side) it seems like the adjustment would be lacking. Do you just have to make sure that the hinges are straight before mounting the door, or is there some way to adjust them at the door as well?


For what it's worth I went with the hidden hinges. I haven't got them installed yet due to lack of time, but I already know where they will be welded in. It looks pretty straight forward. Plus I can adjust them at the door instead of in the frame. This allows me to move them in and aout as well as back and forth. I'm limited to a 90 degree opening though. The old doors open way farther than that.

 

Fix,

There is really no adjustment on early Ford door hinges. I had a situation where the bolster plate in behind the door frame was free and by enlarging the screw holes in the door frame the door could be moved in or out. This plate is usually spot welded to the frame and there is no adjustment. The amount is trial and error until arrived upon. I would not really suggest this route. It was a last resort to move the door 1/8 inch inward, and worked. The plate was hard to keep in place after the adjustment. Super tightening the three hinge screws was the only way to keep the door in place. Bear in mind that the screws that held the hinge to the door were still factory tight and undisturbed. Only the screws from hinge to door frame were removed. As far as the other adjustment, the shimming by brass plates behind the hinges will move the latch tongue up or down to match the striker and dovetail. This is the only way to adjust the door to opening without shimming body mounts or jacking the cab diagonally.

Elder Rodder

 

I removed mine yesterday after pounding on them while the door was on the truck. Easy...remove door from truck, turn upside down while a friend holds the door upright on a 2x4 and use your air hammer with a pointy bit and drive the pin out a 1/2" or so and then finish with a pin driver...then reinstall door and mirror. Use a second pin to align the lower mirror hole with the lower hinge and drive the new pin (from the top) home! Great project, but almost, if not impossible with the door on the truck. While the door was off the truck, my son and I installed a new window track kit and lubed the works up. Took us about 3 hours total...a great bonding experience and not too many cuts and bruises! Trying to remove the pin while the door is on the truck is nearly impossible because you're swing up from the bottom and trying to hold the air hammer on the pin before it's mushroomed is tough...also there is movement in the hinge because the truck is really not solid and the whole thing moves around...upside down on a 2x4 and concrete does the trick...trust me...even a 70 year old can learn something!

 

sorry, duplicate submission...can't figure out how to delete

 

No worries, taken care of. Oh, and welcome to FTE, hope you enjoy your stay here.

 

I'm getting back to this thread because there's been interest lately. After thinking the situation through when first reaching this problem in doing my '40 PU, I decided to remove the doors and hinges intact by removing the hinge bolts from the body. This proved successful in most of the bolts, but even with applying some heat to the two or three remaining, they would not move. I say bolts, but as you know, they're really 5/16-24 flat head machine screws with Phillips heads. I used a really large Phillips head screwdriver with a grip head material on the end, and a hex fitting under the head, which allowed using a box wrench for leverage. Still now luck with the few left. I did drill and remove the heads as mentioned earlier in someone else's post. What was left was the threaded part to drill progressively larger holes in, and then use an easy-out. At least one was drilled totally out.

The doors, once removed, can be most effectively worked on lying flat on a bench, and with the hinge part clamped so the hinge hammering is not transferred to the door metal. I had little interest in trying to realign hinge/door geometry that had been set-up in the factory. I did grind the pins even with the bottom of their hinge so there would be no "swaged" amount to impede pin removal. I read, with interest, the post about using a pointed driver on the pin, but found exception to that. The metal is going to be forced into spreading, if it can, using a tool profile like that. My advice is to use a flat ended punch, smaller than the pin, but not too much smaller. It's important not to use a mild steel driver, as it will tend to mushroom from the force on it, and the reluctance of the pin to move, at first. It's now so necessary to keep everything centered, just not stretching the hinge bolsters at all. I'd also not advise driving the pin from the top down, as the serrations on the pin are used to get a slightly interference fit in the hinge, allowing it to stay in place, once driven home. I'd not like to try driving that the whole length of the hinge. Playing the flame of the torch around the hinge will tend to heat the hinge somewhat before the pin takes the heat. Certainly don't heat the pin itself. We're trying to expend the bolsters, not the pin. This works better with two people, since one heats, the other taps. DON'T hammer as hard as you can. Tap with good blows, but not something that's excessive. If this is going to work, it'll start to happen reasonably quickly. DON'T heat the hinges to cherry red, maybe a slightly dull change in appearance, but not so hot as to become "plasticised." The object is to remove the pin without any decernable change to the hinge set. If it's not working, let it cool, and try again in a bit. It will work, sooner or later. Bear in mind that this is the correct way to progress, and the confidence will get you through the job without wrecking something. I mentioned "sequestering" the hinge on the door side so as to not be transferring hammer blows to the door, which will do the door no good, and subtract from the force of your hammer blows to the pin. When it starts to move, keep tapping it until you get it out, or can grab it with vise grips and twist it out. DON'T drive the punch, or metal driver you're using, until it gets to the tapered part by the handle. You'll extrude the hinge this way, and perhaps have a stuck tool to remove. Also discard the thought of reusing the pins. They're not going back into the hinges. The new pins are readily available, and not costly. Carelessness and "bulling" the job are the costly things.

When driving the new pins home I found myself not wanting to stress the door and hinges in this way, but that's the way it's done, just watch your hammer blows. The hinge half on the body should be tight, and well in place. By all means, get the other half of the hinge faced the right way. I'm not sure this can be done, but it bears mentioning at this point.

This final process is complcated by having to deal with mirror brackets, and probably using a stainless pin to match the nice, shiny, new bracket. This is not to mention the paint job. Others have accomplished this, you can also. Just think about what's happening, and remember you've got a lot of time and cash invested by now. You're almost home, take the time to finish the job right. Choose the right hammer for the job, and don't put hammer marks on the head of the pin. Maybe use a small block of wood, or a scrap of leather on the pin head. Use something that will transfer the force of the hammer blows, but not the metal-on-metal situation that - once again - swages the metal if you do. Oh, and again, get someone to help hold the door, and maybe a third to grab something you need, but forgot to put nearby. Good luck!

 

Just a reminder to those installing NOS mirrors. Use a second hinge pin from the bottom to align the bottom hole in the mirror bracket with the hinge. I used an old leather glove to soften the hammer blows on the pin being installed and the bottom pin backs out as you're installing the upper one. I hope that's clear as mud. The mirror instructions warn about not having the lower part of its' bracket aligned and I found that another door hinge pin works like a charm.

 

Good point and your method works. I have had to buy a larger SS bolt and round up the head to look like stock pins and machine the shaft to oversize to fit the re-drilled hinges. Sometimes the old ones are still loose even with new pins.