'69 Door Hinge Repair

[Jim R.]

My driver's side door sits about 3/16 inch below the rear fender line. Someone showed me that the door could be raised up (when open) and said I needed to replace the brass bushings in the door hinge.

I've loked at this but can't decide if it can be done without taking the door completely off the car.

Do the brass bushings have to be pressed into the hinge? If so, what tools are needed?

Any recommendations for where to buy the parts -- pins and bushings?

Thanks,
Jim #33086

[Wayne W.]

Re: '69 Door Hinge Repair

It is much easier to remove the door completely, but may be possible without doing so. The parts can be found at most any good parts store. No special tools are required. Just knock them out and carefully reinstall.

[Wayne W.]

Re: One Other Consideration

`69 hindges are prone to weakness and often cause damage to the door fiberglass. Later hindges were redesigned and are much stronger. Not from the bushing standpoint but from preventing the door to open too far and cause damage. So you may want to consider changing them if they havent already been done.

[Chuck G.]

Re: One Other Consideration

Nearly impossible to do with the door on the car. Much easier to do with the door removed. Remove the door by loosening/removing the bolts in the door. You can gain access by removing the door panel. Trying to remove the hinge, especially the drivers side, from the body jamb is a MISERABLE job. With the door off the car, you can easily install new bushings, as Wayne has said. Are you sure that something isn't loose? When you wiggle the door, do you see the pins/bushings moving? Could a simple adjustment do the trick? Chuck

[Gary Schisler]

Re: One Other Consideration

Good advice from the others. This bushing should still be available at Chevy. We just did this on my friend's 73 and he picked up a handfull of them there. Not a difficult job at all. Intalling the bushing takes a little more care to prevent damage to any paint at the forward door opening.

Gary

[Kurt B.]

Re: One Other Consideration

I just did this a short while ago on my 68 coupe with the doors still on the car. If memory serves me correctly someone on this list (Chuck G. ? ) gave me a tip to slightly grind one side of the head of the old hinge pin and also the new one so the head is slightly "D" shaped. This allows it to pass by the fender/body without damaging the fiberglass. It only gives you a 1/16th or 1/8th of an inch but it is enough to make a difference. I tried it and it worked great and also replaced the bushings while I had the pin out.
It solved the problem and the door lines up perfect again and no drop when you open it.
Kurt #26406