Hanging doors. Procedures?

[lyrikz]

In the process of test fitting my doors on my 71 and have came to the realization that its a ***** to do. Is there any tips the pros have that they can share?

IM worried that once its all painted that getting it back togehter without scratching EVERYTHING is going to be tough...

How do YOU mount doors????

[BB70c10]

im not speaking from experience,but i've read a tip somewhere that you can latch the door onto the striker first,then line up the hinges.but i think he was referring to doing by yourself.when i hang my doors,im planning on taping all the edges in the door and body,then setting the door on a floor jack(with rags on the jack plate to prevent scratching).then all my help has to do is balance the door on the jack while im lining it up.that way i dont have to worry about him trying to hold the wieght of the door while and possibly scratching the paint with the hinges(them things are heavy).then if its not lined up,i can set it back on the jack and use it to make whatever adjustments i need(up,down,etc.).the way i see it,the jack wont get tired of holding the door or have to scratch its nose right in the middle of holding it.i use the jack at work to support sliding doors when replacing hinges and aligning them.it works great on them,so im thinking it should work on our doors too.

[lyrikz]

Originally Posted by BB70c10

im not speaking from experience,but i've read a tip somewhere that you can latch the door onto the striker first,then line up the hinges.but i think he was referring to doing by yourself.when i hang my doors,im planning on taping all the edges in the door and body,then setting the door on a floor jack(with rags on the jack plate to prevent scratching).then all my help has to do is balance the door on the jack while im lining it up.that way i dont have to worry about him trying to hold the wieght of the door while and possibly scratching the paint with the hinges(them things are heavy).then if its not lined up,i can set it back on the jack and use it to make whatever adjustments i need(up,down,etc.).the way i see it,the jack wont get tired of holding the door or have to scratch its nose right in the middle of holding it.i use the jack at work to support sliding doors when replacing hinges and aligning them.it works great on them,so im thinking it should work on our doors too.

Thats what i did yesterday while test fitting. You have to watch the bottom of the door and the rocker, the top of the door where it touches, then the jam side. Just makes me nervous.. Im going to practice a few times to make sure i get it down and use LOOOOTTSS of tape everywhere when installing em...

[clemson71guy]

i have took my doors off 7 or 8 times and will probally take them off again today. The only thing you i have done is watch everything around it and shut it slowley. Put tape around all the corners or anywhere it could hit just dont use ducktape...trust me it peeled off some of my paint!

[1966gmc]

^^^^ ouch man,that sucks

[lyrikz]

Originally Posted by clemson71guy

i have took my doors off 7 or 8 times and will probally take them off again today. The only thing you i have done is watch everything around it and shut it slowley. Put tape around all the corners or anywhere it could hit just dont use ducktape...trust me it peeled off some of my paint!

Not to be a dick, but i would know better then to use duct tape. That **** NEVER comes off. EVER. ahah. It somehow chemically bonds to whatever it touches. It removes skin if its on long enough.

I have been watching yoru thread, i saw those door chips and just cringed for you. Im trying to avoid that.


I was kind of looking for tips on how to install them. Like, hinge to door, then hinge to truck, or vice versa. That kinda thing.... I think just yanking them and putting them back on will give me the knowledge i need....

[crazy longhorn]

Hang & align them, pin the hinges.....then take em apart for paint.....crazyL

[jamis]

use lots of cuss words...thats the ony way I know how...in fact it has led me to invent new cuss words when the old ones where not enough. The same goes for hoods

[clemson71guy]

Originally Posted by lyrikz

Not to be a dick, but i would know better then to use duct tape. That **** NEVER comes off. EVER. ahah. It somehow chemically bonds to whatever it touches. It removes skin if its on long enough.

I have been watching yoru thread, i saw those door chips and just cringed for you. Im trying to avoid that.


I was kind of looking for tips on how to install them. Like, hinge to door, then hinge to truck, or vice versa. That kinda thing.... I think just yanking them and putting them back on will give me the knowledge i need....

yeah it was my dads idea..i told him not to and he said ahhh na its just tape
but it will be touched up.
its easier if you put the hinges on the door then put it on the truck, when we had my doors in primer we just sat it on the jack with a peice of wood and jacked it up to where it needed to be that way its easier to make adjustments.

[lyrikz]

Originally Posted by crazy longhorn

Hang & align them, pin the hinges.....then take em apart for paint.....crazyL

Pin the hinges???

Does that mean drill a hole through the hinge and the body, so that later you put something in there shows you the line up point?? How big of a hole?

[crazy longhorn]

Yup, a pair of 1/8" pins in ea hinge should do you...

[keiths69swb]

I've seen a couple of people use the drill and pin technique with success. I just swapped doors on my 71 and I plan on having everything lined up before I begin to think about doing body work. I don't want my paint chipped either..Dude that's sucks...

[Bernie]

I hung the doors from my cherry picker. No glass in the door and wound an old sheet around the top and suspended that from the cherry picker hook. It worked pretty well. If I'd thought of tape around the edges I would have done that too. Once you do have it set up it is good to drill through the hinges so the doors are easier to rehang next time

[Huck]

I hang the door aligning the rear edge to the cab and the upper leading edge where it should run parallel with the windshield frame--I usually leave the latch off the cab for this. Once it is set right --hinge to A pillar and hinge to door ---then I pin the hinges to ensure approx placement. Finally, I never paint the total door---just the inner and jams but leave the outer till it is hung --finish. This eliminates the chipping. mounting, hassles. huck

[lyrikz]

Originally Posted by Huck

I hang the door aligning the rear edge to the cab and the upper leading edge where it should run parallel with the windshield frame--I usually leave the latch off the cab for this. Once it is set right --hinge to A pillar and hinge to door ---then I pin the hinges to ensure approx placement. Finally, I never paint the total door---just the inner and jams but leave the outer till it is hung --finish. This eliminates the chipping. mounting, hassles. huck

Thank you.

God i love this site.. LOVE IT.

[hdflstf]

Had one door off to do hinge pins over Christmas. I ended up using a tie down strap looped over a rafter and attached to the top of the door to support the weight of the door. It worked out ok. Still needed a second set of hands to hold the door in place and get bolts installed.

[drman929]

I always get my wonderfully cheap hydraulic work stool out for this task. I put the door on top of the stool standing up, about 3/4 of the way towards the back of the door. Adjust it an inch or two lower than you think it should be. Then just roll it towards the cab with the hinges already installed. When you get closer, just bump the height rod a bit at a time to line it up. It's been the easiest way I've used, even though it still isn't easy...

[timzrides]

after you pin each hinge twice with 1/8 bit. what do you use to allign hole again....drill bit again...probably a stupid question?

[FRENCHBLUE72]

Thanks for the ideas as Im about to reinsall my door after the hinge rebuild kit...

[c10addict]

I painted my cab with the doors on it inside and out... It turned out perfect and the stress of chipping it was gone.... I did the pin trick on the hood hinges.. Fit the entire truck in primer, trim and all till its perfect then blow it back apart and paint it..