What's the best way to swap doors on old rusty A's? I'm thinking I may have an easier time taking the pins out than trying to unbolt hinges, those old screws I have to think will just strip out on me and have to be drilled. I have to think they'll rust into the wood like brake drums rust into the shoes and be a real ******* to try to turn. But I'm thinking even to do the pins I'm going to have to heat them up with a torch first. Maybe melt a little wax into them and then try to drive them out? Between the press fit and 78 years or so of rusting I wouldn't expect them to come easy. One of my replacement doors has one complete hinge on it but it's frozen, too. But both replacement doors are solid all the way to the bottom and the ones on this cab both need the bottoms patched. I see less work in swapping them out than in fixing the old ones.
I had to heat mine red hot and pound like hell to get the pins out. I think you could soak them with pb blaster for a few days but you will still need to heat them. Good luck, and thanks for the f1 replies.
You will have to pull out all the tricks, heat, penetrating oil, impact screw driver you name it! Just be patient and let the lube or wax do it's thing!
use Kroil and heat and a good punch,Got a tool once and for pressing them out and broke it on the first one.Kroil does do wonders.
That's what I thought - no matter what it won't be easy. Although so far it's been easier than I expected on the parts I did take off.
I know this is something the VW guys battle with - on stuff that is 30-40 years newer Seems the best solution there is a puller type tool (like a two-legged gear puller set up) to push the pin out. Even then heat, penetrating fluid etc is needed. Don't know if there is enough meat on the top of a Model A hinge to "grip" on? Barry
There are pin presses out there on the market. They're cast and have different lengths of pins. Start with short and work up to long. Worked good for me. I've seen them at Mac's Auto Parts, and at Drake. JimSig
Here's a link to AC&R. Hinge pins are a problem on Model A's. http://www.partsformodelafords.com/store/moreinfo.cfm?Product_ID=3241
The pin itself is probably cheap to replace, but I don't know if I would dare try to drill one out, and I doubt you could burn it out without ruining the hinge. Tool looks like a good idea. Two blocks, two bolts, and a pin, put the right pin in it and put it over the hinge and tighten the bolts to drive the hinge pin out of the hinge?
Don't beat on the pins to hard I ended up ruining the door half because after lubing and heating it up for several days I still ended up twisting the hinge from hitting it to hard. Had to cut off the body half to get the pin out but it was to late because the other half was ruined. The repop hinges are made of bronze but I thing there is an Alliance vender that is reproducing them out of steel now. Even old ones on ebay are very pricey. I have a few extras but not willing to let them go until I know I won't need them. My doors seem to be the hardest part of my build to get right so far. Just take your time and don't get frustrated and mess them up like I did.
I just wanted to install the mirrors that replace the top pins, bought the tool, got the drivers door pin out without much trouble, The tool broke trying to get the p***enger door pin out, I've tried everything and, a two and a half years later haven't gotten that pin out, good luck.
On the A in my avatar, I wanted mirrors too. I couldn't get either pin out, even with the hinge pin tool (I have now been told that an air hammer with a small enough punch type tip on it works best, it's a 'grind yer own' kinda tool). I wound up taking the upper two hinges off, PB blaster, and an appropriatly sized screwdriver got most of them, an impact driver got most of the rest (I had to drill the last one). I'm going to have to drill the pins out, not that big of a deal when you can put them in a vise on a drill press though. I'm not sure what these pins are made of, as the end of one of them is bradded over (aparently from a previous removal effort) and I couldn't get a drill to make a mark in it on the car (drilling uphill though). I'll have to get to those soon.
I bought one of the hinge pin press out tools.I used heat and wax and the tool.A little patience and it works pretty good.One pin I had to tighten up the tool on it,apply heat while it was under pressure and tap on the hinge with a hammer all at the same time,but it finally started to come out.If you try to use a punch I think you will mis-align the hinge still attached to the body.
My 29 door hinge mirrors arrived today and after a session with the punch and hammer - no success and reading these comments - I am scared to continue (don't want to repaint) - I think I will just use clamp ons and send these back. Thanks for the warnings.
I just got done getting mine out.... kroil and heat!!! on a couple of them I used an endmill in a drill and got thru enough each end enough to get the door off. Then used a punch, kroil and a Big hammer to get the rest of the pin out of the hinge. it worked the best when I didn't get the whole hinge and the pin too hot. just get the hinge glowing and not the pin use a punch that is close to the pin size took some time. I also was able to get all but 2 of the screws out of the body with a impact driver, the one you hit with a hammer. My body is not painted just rust!! Oversized pins and screw set is on the way. Good luck
I have never tried to remove one of these pins yet, not looking forward to it Are these pins tapered or straight ? Will they come out either way.
I welded a chain to the top of the pin and pulled them out. If you hammer on them with a punch they get fatter and even harder to remove. (picture a single chain link and a slide hammer) Other than that little trick, lots of heat, a drill, and all those words mom told you not to say. Good luck!
I dripped Liquid Wrench on mine AM/PM for about 4 days. On third day, with cardboard taped to the door (protection), I hit it with the home depot pneumatic chisel gun using the pointed tip. Just a few seconds on each pin to loosen. Then a bit longer and occasionally reground the tip to a dull point. Took the next couple of days (more LW) but got all 8 out. Top of pin was serated. RB
^^ what he said. When I went to remove mine I asked a guy that has restored or been involved in restoring lots of A's (75+). I have pestered this fellow with all kinds of questions about how to dis***emble/re***emble my Tudor & he has not led me astray yet. He warned me of exactly what hotrodnailhead posted. he also told me not to wast my $$ on one of the tools that push the pins out, said that they will do the same thing as hammering on the pins, just slower. The best method he has come across yet is to drill them out from the bottom up. The pin itself is not an interference fit in the part of the hinge that bolts to the door post. The hinge pin is only an interference fit in the top portion of the door 1/2 of the hinge. The top 1/8 inch or so of the pin is splined for the interference fit in the door 1/2 and the rest is supposed to turn freely inside the post 1/2 of the hinge. Rust is what causes the pin to not turn free. Apparently it is very common for rust to cause the pin to break just below the knurl. if you have a look at your hinge when you open/close the door does the top rounded portion of the hinge move with the door? does the bottom end of the pin not move with the door? The good news is that the metal of the pin is very soft & easy to drill. The metal of the hinge is significantly harder & tough to damage as long as you are careful. When I did mine (29) I actually removed the hinges from the door posts & flipped the door upside down so that **** was not falling into my eyes. Drill about 3/4 of the way through & then use a hammer & a drift punch to knock it the rest of the way out. The heat & oil from drilling the pin should be enough to allow the pin to be knocked out with just a few blows. More good news is that the pins are available repop for something like $3 each. They are also available in stainless for about $6 each. Good luck.
Make sure you test fit the new pins to both parts of the hinges early in the bodywork game. Rust will close up the holes. I ended up replacing my hinge pins with 1/4" diameter shoulder bolts with allen heads and a smaller thread tip end and 6mm stainless washers for spacing and dress up. I had to drill out the hinge blocks on the body. Should've paid more attention to how all that stuff fit together a couple of years ago. Oh well.
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