Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

So I pulled my hinges last night and this is what I found.

Pins are not only worn, but they are bent as well, particularly the top one. In the second picture you can see some hammer marks on the hinge, which is maybe the cause of the bent pin.



I know the service manual says to lubricate the hinges, but I didn't know, until I took mine apart, that the hinge has a little hole in the bend that goes to the pin! Maybe all old vehicles are like this, but it's a great idea! The pin is clearly designed to distribute the lubricant. If you haven't lubricated your door hinges through that little hole, do your car a favour and get it done!



Another issue, particularly with the bottom hole of the top bracket, is that it is a bit egg shape. So some of the movement is coming from here as well. I'm going to weld around there to beef it up and bit and just doing that will probably shrink it enough to tighten it back up. If not I'll build it up and drill it back out.



The holes in the hinges themselves are not very worn, so I won't need to drill and put in bushings. The top one is a bit looser than the bottom, so I'll swap the top for the bottom.



I don't see any reason that when I'm all done they will be good to go for another 70 years! Especially with proper lubrication!

For that effort I think you could find a nicer pair that would mostly just work.

Can you take measurements with a caliper and check what your values are for everything?

Not much effort at all, and I would rather have hinges that are 100% for the driver's door.







Hinges must have been mounted before cars were painted. I cleaned it up and gave it a light coat of paint even though there was only some very minor surface rust.

That definitely looks like paint under there though?

Quote:

Do you mean where I painted it?