- Joined
- Jul 27, 2012
- Messages
- 3,127
- Reaction score
- 491
- Location
- Brisbane - Australia
- My Car
- 1973 Mustang Convertible
Hi to all,
I wanted to follow up on a post that was put up several months ago, by a member that was struggling with trying to get decent upgrade door hinges for his Mustang. I told him that i was experimenting with aftermarket Taiwan hinges, and i would get back to the Forum and tell him how i got on. So here i am, with some interesting results and feedback that i hope will benefit the Forum members as to a heads up on a better way to go with upgrading your '71 to '73 door hinges.
Going way back years ago, this very topic was raised in the Forum about worn out original hinge pins and bushes on all upper and lower hinges. As i recall a Forum member (Q Code 351) put forward a very good solution to repairing old worn out hinge pins and bushes by buying a kit that once installed, never need to be replaced - just lubed up when servicing the car. (see reference below) The point is, that i should have taken his advice back then. Instead, i took the long way 'round and ended up paying a big price for my troubles. So here's my sad story.............................................
I bought my '73 Mustang Convertible back in 2011. The car was in very good original condition. The passengers side door hinges were in perfect condition, but the drivers side lower hinge had a degree of play in it, and the roller/torsion bar setup had lost its door holding strength, or so i thought. (they never had any decent holding strength in the original factory ones anyway). Back then, i had the option of buying a new hinge pin/ bushing kit to remedy the door play problem, but i chose the path of removing my original hinge, and replacing it with an aftermarket version to also remedy the weak roller closing problem. That's were i made the wrong decision. The first aftermarket lower hinge failed. I spray painted it up, installed it on the car, went to close the door for the first time, and the torsion bar broke clean off straight away. That was that. My next mistake was to experiment with a Dynacorn brand hinge, hoping that the quality would be better, and solve my problems. But no, the hinge failed as well, this time without breaking the torsion bar. But the door did not want to close properly, and if i forced it to close, it would have damaged the hinge badly as well. What i discovered, was the cut out hole in the hinge body where the torsion bar goes into was round circular shaped, and was too small a diameter. This was the root cause of why the aftermarket hinges were not working or functioning properly. I tried to enlarge the hole in the Dynacorn hinge. That helped, but did not solve the problem as my door made a noisy clunking sound every time you opened or closed it. That's when the Gods smiled down upon me. I got real lucky, and stumbled upon a guy down in Tasmania who was selling a set of genuine original NOS upper and lower hinges for the drivers side. $300.00 Australian. I also discovered that the original factory lower hinges have a quarter pie shaped cut out hole where the torsion bars go into. This shaped hole allows for the proper and correct movement to the torsion bar when the doors are opened and closed as the roller wheels run across the torsion bar surface. On all aftermarket versions, they only provide a small circular shaped hole that does not allow the torsion bar to move properly in the hole, thus making the door hinge a failure. However, i have noted in the past, some Forum members stating that their aftermarket lower hinges have performed well. How this is so is beyond me. Maybe they got lucky, and the circular hole did not play up for them. I really don't know. I got badly burnt with the Dynacorn and Mr. Quang's Taiwan Saturday night special. How many more purchase tries do i keep on making before maybe coming up with one that actually works properly. Really? I don't think so.
At this stage, i could have chosen to go back to my original factory hinge and get a new bushing kit, but i bit the bullet and bought the NOS instead. As you would expect, i painted it up, installed it, and the fit was perfect with no open or closing problems. The weak roller resistance issue still remains, but has slightly improved, which gets back to the fact that this roller/ torsion bar design was never much good in the first place. ( In Australia, we have a saying for this - pissweak!) I also decided not to use the newly purchased upper hinge, as my original one is in perfect condition believe it or not. OK, so to sum up, i have laid out a list below as a guide to helping members make a better choice. Listed from best option to worst option.
1. Best option. Replace hinges with NOS factory. This is a big problem, as trying to find these NOS hinges is like digging for gold. (very rare, and hard to come by). Good luck to you if you find some.
2. Option 2. If your factory original hinges are in decent shape, but have pin/ bushing issues only, then replace them with the cheap bushing kit. This is the second best cheapest option. (However, look out for hogged out hinge body holes that take the bushings.) If they are hogged out, then the Zert kit should get you out of jail here, as a standard cheap bushing kit won't cut it. The more expensive rebuild kits with the Zerts option would be a better way to go, but more pricey. If you have hogged out holes, and are watching your money, then option 3 could be a better choice.
3. Option 3. If your factory original hinges are stuffed all 'round, then West Coast Cougar sell factory original, second hand core hinges in decent condition. You buy the cheap extra pin/ bushing kit as well and you should be out of trouble. You can also go with the Zerts kit in these if you want as well. You may be considering buying second hand factory original used hinges on E bay or the like. Be careful here as the hinge body bushing holes could be worn and hogged out. Cracks in the hinge body could also be present. Rollers and roller bushings could be stuffed. The torsion bar could also be grooved out and damaged.You would want to inspect them in person before you bought them. Another case of buyer beware here. Better to deal with a reputable company like West Coast Cougars for peace of mind and a saving of money.
4. Option 4. Stick to buying the crappy aftermarket hinges. To be fair, i have never purchased an aftermarket upper hinge, left or right, only a lower drivers side. In any case these lower hinges are rubbish in respect to the fact that the cut out holes were not done and shaped properly, thus causing big problems with the working door action. The hinge body bolt holes are not aligned correctly, thus causing door fit up problems, and the thickness of the steel hinge bodies is inferior to the factory originals, thus making the overall strength of the hinge inferior. These hinges are poor quality rubbish, and a waste of money, and manufacture of them should stop, until a better designed hinge can be made. I discovered that to my trouble and cost, and learnt the hard way.
Footnote: All the aftermarket hinges i investigated online had circular cut out body holes for the torsion bars. If by chance, you stumble on one that has a genuine quarter shaped pie cut out, then it may be worth considering. Aftermarket single hinges are not cheap to buy. If that hinge still causes problems, then you've done your money. Your risk.
Second footnote: When i think about it, the really sad thing here is that if these hinges had of been made in America instead of Taiwan, then fair bet, they would have been made properly and worked properly. I prey that in time, a shift will occur when America starts manufacturing the aftermarket parts more, and delivers a better quality product, instead of the cheap labor, Asian rubbish, that we have come to enjoy so much. Ha, Ha.
Third Footnote: Handy hint! Simple test for hinge pin/bush wear. Open car door fully on a level surface. Bend over to grab the bottom underside edge of the door lock corner with both hands. Pull or lift upwards. If the door has any up and down play or movement, then you have a wear problem. The bigger the movement,the worse the wear problem is. For top notch condition hinges, there should be no movement up and down at all. (Watch you back with this one. Not recommended for folks with bad backs)
See my references and links below.
1. West Coast Cougars factory cores for sale, plus great instructional video provided as well.
https://secure.cougarpartscatalog.com/71dsl.html
2. Link to the Zert kit for sale. Shopping around could save you money maybe.
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1971-73-Mustang-Cougar-Door-Hinge-Rebuild-Kit-with-Zerks-/121300860821
3. See my photos as a reference. They show you my NOS hinge that i bought with correct quarter pie shaped cutout, and an old used second hand Factory original hinge with the same quarter pie shaped cutout. After much investigation, i could not find any aftermarket lower hinges with the quarter cut outs. They all have circular cut outs. Big problem! Buy at your own risk. I bought two of them and both failed badly. See an example of an aftermarket hinge with a circular cut out.
Hope all that helps,
Greg. :classic_smile:
I wanted to follow up on a post that was put up several months ago, by a member that was struggling with trying to get decent upgrade door hinges for his Mustang. I told him that i was experimenting with aftermarket Taiwan hinges, and i would get back to the Forum and tell him how i got on. So here i am, with some interesting results and feedback that i hope will benefit the Forum members as to a heads up on a better way to go with upgrading your '71 to '73 door hinges.
Going way back years ago, this very topic was raised in the Forum about worn out original hinge pins and bushes on all upper and lower hinges. As i recall a Forum member (Q Code 351) put forward a very good solution to repairing old worn out hinge pins and bushes by buying a kit that once installed, never need to be replaced - just lubed up when servicing the car. (see reference below) The point is, that i should have taken his advice back then. Instead, i took the long way 'round and ended up paying a big price for my troubles. So here's my sad story.............................................
I bought my '73 Mustang Convertible back in 2011. The car was in very good original condition. The passengers side door hinges were in perfect condition, but the drivers side lower hinge had a degree of play in it, and the roller/torsion bar setup had lost its door holding strength, or so i thought. (they never had any decent holding strength in the original factory ones anyway). Back then, i had the option of buying a new hinge pin/ bushing kit to remedy the door play problem, but i chose the path of removing my original hinge, and replacing it with an aftermarket version to also remedy the weak roller closing problem. That's were i made the wrong decision. The first aftermarket lower hinge failed. I spray painted it up, installed it on the car, went to close the door for the first time, and the torsion bar broke clean off straight away. That was that. My next mistake was to experiment with a Dynacorn brand hinge, hoping that the quality would be better, and solve my problems. But no, the hinge failed as well, this time without breaking the torsion bar. But the door did not want to close properly, and if i forced it to close, it would have damaged the hinge badly as well. What i discovered, was the cut out hole in the hinge body where the torsion bar goes into was round circular shaped, and was too small a diameter. This was the root cause of why the aftermarket hinges were not working or functioning properly. I tried to enlarge the hole in the Dynacorn hinge. That helped, but did not solve the problem as my door made a noisy clunking sound every time you opened or closed it. That's when the Gods smiled down upon me. I got real lucky, and stumbled upon a guy down in Tasmania who was selling a set of genuine original NOS upper and lower hinges for the drivers side. $300.00 Australian. I also discovered that the original factory lower hinges have a quarter pie shaped cut out hole where the torsion bars go into. This shaped hole allows for the proper and correct movement to the torsion bar when the doors are opened and closed as the roller wheels run across the torsion bar surface. On all aftermarket versions, they only provide a small circular shaped hole that does not allow the torsion bar to move properly in the hole, thus making the door hinge a failure. However, i have noted in the past, some Forum members stating that their aftermarket lower hinges have performed well. How this is so is beyond me. Maybe they got lucky, and the circular hole did not play up for them. I really don't know. I got badly burnt with the Dynacorn and Mr. Quang's Taiwan Saturday night special. How many more purchase tries do i keep on making before maybe coming up with one that actually works properly. Really? I don't think so.
At this stage, i could have chosen to go back to my original factory hinge and get a new bushing kit, but i bit the bullet and bought the NOS instead. As you would expect, i painted it up, installed it, and the fit was perfect with no open or closing problems. The weak roller resistance issue still remains, but has slightly improved, which gets back to the fact that this roller/ torsion bar design was never much good in the first place. ( In Australia, we have a saying for this - pissweak!) I also decided not to use the newly purchased upper hinge, as my original one is in perfect condition believe it or not. OK, so to sum up, i have laid out a list below as a guide to helping members make a better choice. Listed from best option to worst option.
1. Best option. Replace hinges with NOS factory. This is a big problem, as trying to find these NOS hinges is like digging for gold. (very rare, and hard to come by). Good luck to you if you find some.
2. Option 2. If your factory original hinges are in decent shape, but have pin/ bushing issues only, then replace them with the cheap bushing kit. This is the second best cheapest option. (However, look out for hogged out hinge body holes that take the bushings.) If they are hogged out, then the Zert kit should get you out of jail here, as a standard cheap bushing kit won't cut it. The more expensive rebuild kits with the Zerts option would be a better way to go, but more pricey. If you have hogged out holes, and are watching your money, then option 3 could be a better choice.
3. Option 3. If your factory original hinges are stuffed all 'round, then West Coast Cougar sell factory original, second hand core hinges in decent condition. You buy the cheap extra pin/ bushing kit as well and you should be out of trouble. You can also go with the Zerts kit in these if you want as well. You may be considering buying second hand factory original used hinges on E bay or the like. Be careful here as the hinge body bushing holes could be worn and hogged out. Cracks in the hinge body could also be present. Rollers and roller bushings could be stuffed. The torsion bar could also be grooved out and damaged.You would want to inspect them in person before you bought them. Another case of buyer beware here. Better to deal with a reputable company like West Coast Cougars for peace of mind and a saving of money.
4. Option 4. Stick to buying the crappy aftermarket hinges. To be fair, i have never purchased an aftermarket upper hinge, left or right, only a lower drivers side. In any case these lower hinges are rubbish in respect to the fact that the cut out holes were not done and shaped properly, thus causing big problems with the working door action. The hinge body bolt holes are not aligned correctly, thus causing door fit up problems, and the thickness of the steel hinge bodies is inferior to the factory originals, thus making the overall strength of the hinge inferior. These hinges are poor quality rubbish, and a waste of money, and manufacture of them should stop, until a better designed hinge can be made. I discovered that to my trouble and cost, and learnt the hard way.
Footnote: All the aftermarket hinges i investigated online had circular cut out body holes for the torsion bars. If by chance, you stumble on one that has a genuine quarter shaped pie cut out, then it may be worth considering. Aftermarket single hinges are not cheap to buy. If that hinge still causes problems, then you've done your money. Your risk.
Second footnote: When i think about it, the really sad thing here is that if these hinges had of been made in America instead of Taiwan, then fair bet, they would have been made properly and worked properly. I prey that in time, a shift will occur when America starts manufacturing the aftermarket parts more, and delivers a better quality product, instead of the cheap labor, Asian rubbish, that we have come to enjoy so much. Ha, Ha.
Third Footnote: Handy hint! Simple test for hinge pin/bush wear. Open car door fully on a level surface. Bend over to grab the bottom underside edge of the door lock corner with both hands. Pull or lift upwards. If the door has any up and down play or movement, then you have a wear problem. The bigger the movement,the worse the wear problem is. For top notch condition hinges, there should be no movement up and down at all. (Watch you back with this one. Not recommended for folks with bad backs)
See my references and links below.
1. West Coast Cougars factory cores for sale, plus great instructional video provided as well.
https://secure.cougarpartscatalog.com/71dsl.html
2. Link to the Zert kit for sale. Shopping around could save you money maybe.
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1971-73-Mustang-Cougar-Door-Hinge-Rebuild-Kit-with-Zerks-/121300860821
3. See my photos as a reference. They show you my NOS hinge that i bought with correct quarter pie shaped cutout, and an old used second hand Factory original hinge with the same quarter pie shaped cutout. After much investigation, i could not find any aftermarket lower hinges with the quarter cut outs. They all have circular cut outs. Big problem! Buy at your own risk. I bought two of them and both failed badly. See an example of an aftermarket hinge with a circular cut out.
Hope all that helps,
Greg. :classic_smile:
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