Door hinges and Pin kit

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

The reason the bolts are tight is that they were self tapping. They were not required to lock in they just do because of the rust and the fact that they are self threading makes them tight. There is no reason to have locking bolts in a door hinge. Ford saw less cost using the self tapping bolts over the cost of having to tap the holes the the nut plates in the door. When I remove them I actually run a tap into the nut plates to clean them up and apply never seize to the threads. 

I have a drawer full of reinforcing plates that Ford used that I kept from work in case I needed one. None of them have threads even in the weld nuts on some of them. 

If you have ever taken the bed off a Ford pick up you struggled getting the bolts out due to same thing they are self tapping. If you feel of the bolts they are not round they are triangle shaped and tapered to allow them to push the threads into the plates. The triangle shape also helps them to go in straight. Do not be concerned your doors are going to fall off they will not as long as you torque the bolts to proper torque they are not going to come off. They are a fact of bean counting not required locking. Self tapping bolts are used in lots of products. On the John Deere lawn mowers I put I think 12 in each frame rail. Instead of using a weld nut or tap plate I just extruded the hole to give additional thickness. The tri lobe bolts used to assemble the lawn mower forms the threads. Saves lots of assembly head aches trying to put a nut on the back side. This link will take you to one supplier that has explanation of them and how they work.

https://www.stanleyengineeredfastening.com/fasteners/screws-and-bolts/taptite-2000

" When I remove them I actually run a tap into the nut plates to clean them up and apply never seize to the threads."

When would this be, I don't recall you telling us about you removing and reinstalling a door on a 71-3

I just know from EXPERIENCE if you tap them they will be loose

I don't give a crap about you making 5000 lawn mowers a day or Stanley fasteners or your other BS

So how many of these plates you got laying around

I have a 72 Q vert that I am doing as I can right now. All mustangs have the plates back to 65 and I did several back in the 70's before life took all my time. 

It is amazing you do not believe anything I say. I worked making millions of parts for Ford so I know exactly how them make parts and why they make them the way they do. I worked as a automotive product product, process and tooling engineer the last 18 years I work. So I know why they did what they did. Not a junk yard speculating why they did it. Our company made parts for at least a dozen Ford vehicles. Big business BS is why I retired early. 

Sorry that it bothers you that someone actually worked in the business not guessing how and why something was done I lived it. 

I have a dozen or so mustangs laying around my place several are bare bones and yes I have plates laying around. I just do not sell that much. If someone local needs I help them.

I only share info so people can learn how and why parts are made like they are. Most decisions in automotive are bean counter decisions. The mustang was the bottom of the barrel vehicle along with Maverick, Falcon and Pinto. They were as cheap as they could make. Not engineered to last forever. When the trunk floor of your car is the gas tank can't get much cheaper. 

Cars are made better today because they were forced to not because they wanted to. 

So I will keep sharing what I know you keep sharing what you know. I for sure do not know all the years and version of parts on a mustang like you do. You have taken more apart that I have looked at.

 

[tony-muscle]

Can someone please give me an approximate weight for the door? I am trying to figure out if I can do it myself. I don't want to try and all the sudden drop the thing on the floor.

Thank you.

 

[Mister 4x4]

I'm thinking it's probably more in the range of 60-80 lbs... not quite 100.  I know I can pick one up that's fully loaded (with the glass, regulator, tracks, door latch and lock hardware, etc.), carry it around and set it back down without feeling like I'd be killing myself doing so.

Are you replacing both hinge pins on each door?  Or the entire hinge?

Do you have enough space to open the door wide?

Try this for replacing the pins and bushings: open the door wide, prop something under the door to keep it steady, tap out one of the pins, remove the bushings on that hinge, replace the bushings and replace the pin.  Do the other hinge - same technique.  Do the other side, same technique (one hinge at a time with the door supported).

That should save you from having to pick-up and or drop any doors, and shouldn't mess with the alignment of the doors, either.

If you're replacing both hinge assemblies on each door, you might consider removing the fender, or maybe the inner splash guard and reaching through to replace each hinge, one at a time, with the door remaining closed.  It's a lot of work, but it works and allows the doors to stay in position without needing much if any realignment.  I'd actually done this after I'd removed the fenders to replace the pins and bushings, then decided to go with the Mustang Steve kit, so I pulled the doors off altogether and went from there.

Hope that helps!

 

[73pony]

I would estimate the door being about 80 lbs with glass installed. Heavy and kind of awkward but one person can handle it during removal as long as it is supported while removing hinges and you have something set up near by to place the door on as well as a good open area to move around so as not to have to maneuver around other stuff. It is much easier with a second person even if it is to just balance the door on what ever you are using to support it.

 

[vintageman]

I would say they are about 80 pounds with glass as well. I have changed out the pins on mine. When I did, I removed the fender, left the door closed, removed one hinge at a time, changed the pin out, installed and then did the other hinge. Then I would open the door and close it a couple times to check for proper alignment. If needed, I put a jack and a piece of wood in between the jack and the door, loosened up the hinge bolts slightly, and did my adjustments. Takes me about 30 minutes or so to get good alignment so that I do not have to lift up or slam the door to get it closed. My doors actually close really easy and alignment looks spot on. Good luck.

Tom

 

[tony-muscle]

Thank you. Thats a good weight to handle.

I already have the fender of. The reason i need to remove the door is because i need to drill the hole for the wire bellows. I cant get to the location with the doors on. Then i will install the door and replace one hinge shaft at a time.

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[turtle5353]

Floor jack and a piece of wood wrapped in a towel to support the door and an extra set of hands is nice to help balance. But it can be done by yourself. Pretty easy.

 

[73pony]

Thank you. Thats a good weight to handle.

I already have the fender of. The reason i need to remove the door is because i need to drill the hole for the wire bellows. I cant get to the location with the doors on. Then i will install the door and replace one hinge shaft at a time.

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Tony,

I was able to drill my holes with doors on. Used a cheap right angle attachment from menards and a step bit.

See post # 26 and #27

https://www.7173mustangs.com/thread-door-speaker-replacement?page=3&highlight=door+speakers

 

[tony-muscle]

The drill angle adapter does not fit with the hole saw. If you had step drills it may work if you can drill holes at ever bigger at angle until you could insert part of the step drill. If you are using universal bellows they probably are of smaller diameter. The ones i am using are 1 5/8" which i dont have a step drill for.

In any case, last night i removed the door. Not that hard except that the door when loosen and grabbed at the top it kicked away from me and away from the jack. The door then fell in a semi-controlled manner. Luckily i had plan for possible problems and had pads and carpet all around. Not major damage happened.

The stupidity i commited was that after i sawed the inner hole with the 1 5/8 i was so excited that didnt change the saw for the door hole...... dahhhh!!![emoji848][emoji848] The door hole is supposed to be 2". So what can i do at that time?? I ended up tack welding the cut out to the door hole so i can use the drilled center hole as a guide for the 2" saw. Otherwise i couldn't keep the saw blade in place. After welding the cut was easy. Now they are done and the door is back on. No one will know that i had to weld that piece because the 2" hole removed the welded section[emoji21].

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