VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 1929 Door Hinge Problem

The Passenger door top hinge cannot be used because of split wood.The lower 2 hinges are firmly secured though.Im thinking, just short of replacing the Whole wood member , using some good wood hardening glue and re drilling the holes.Has anyone eles had luck with this?

I'm not a 100% sure but you could drill a hole as large as the hole is in the sheet metal then glue a wood dowel in and then try screwing the hinge back on.

Doweling the screw holes is a recommended fix. Even the period Fisher Body Manuals recommended it. Just make sure that you get a tight fit and use a good water proof glue.

I have never used the body filler or other products. Having spend a bunch of years in Urethane chemistry I know those can be great products so should work well. My major concern is making sure that you get a good bond. Grease, oil, wood deterioration, etc. can present problems.

I have in the past filled the hole like mentioned then redrill the hole completely thru, use a long machine screw with similar head and then place a plate on backside that is large enough to help ditribute the weight better, then a nut. If you trim the plate nicely it will never show and as I said all the weight of the door wont be on one little area.

I suggest you pull the door and be sure the wood left is good enough for dowels. I was going to use dowels on the top, when the lower hinges seemed OK. Pulled the door and found a prior repair was a shim of plywood over rotted frame wood. Long story short, pulled more skin and wound up using 35 board feet of oak to fix what needed fixing and what was cruddy but could have been left in place. Good luck, that front pillar is a pip.