[roller]

i'm finally starting to look into refurbishing the door hinges on my '69 gtv. i got the refurb kit from centerline, and am starting to think about how to approach it.

the cardisc says i should get a jagged punch and remove the hinge pin. is that what most people get in order to remove the pin? i can't push the pin up because it will hit the top of the door.

any thoughts?

thanks,

john

 

[604doc]

It will probably make life easier if you just remove the door, then the hinge. I rebushed my GTV hinges this year, and that way seemed to work well for me. I'm sure other people will ring in will other ideas. Good luck!

 

[roller]

thanks nelson.
i'm concerned about preserving the alignment of the doors -- i'm assuming that if i can just remove the pins, i won't have to completely re-align the doors on installation. but i'm admittedly ignorant about these matters. any wisdom welcome...

john

 

[dfrye]

Re-aligning the doors will not be too hard if you have someone to help.

You could also consider some reproduction hinges. I have seen some which have a stop cast into the back which prevents damage to the door paint if the check straps break. Am not sure if these were standard on some models or not.
//dean

 

[roller]

thanks dean, i'll look into that.
here's a picture of the tool that i was referring to:

john

 

[dfrye]

Hi John, regardless of whether you remove the pin with the hinge on the car or not, they tend to seize, and you can crack the hinge itself if you use too much force. From your photo, they look like they will need more encouragement than a gentle tap from the hammer... it might be easier in the vise

cheers,

//dean

 

[PSk]

John,

If you want to preserve the alignment (which I imagine will differ once you have refurbished the hinges anyway) you could do one hinge at a time by completely removing them (one at a time). Also draw marks around the hinge so you put them back in exactly the same place.

You would need something to support the door in the open position so that once you have unbolted the eight allen keys the door will not move (to much). Then you could chuck the hinge in a vice and remove the pin.

Best
Pete
ps: Those doors are really heavy by the way!!!

 

[GD91]

Hello!

If you want to preserve the alignment , begin by drilling two small holes (2 mm is ok) through the hinge and the body car, on each hinge (on at the top, one at the bottom)

You can now dismantle the doors from the car. You will be able to position them again in exactly the same position introducing a small rod in the holes to help positionning.

The position of the hinge on the door is automatic, so don't worry about this side!

Be aware of shims between hinge and car body and do not forget them!

 

[spannerman]

you may find that over time the doors have been adjusted as the bushes have worn. so they will need re-adjusting anyway. After doing the bushes on my junior and careful realigning, they shut like a new cars.
A mate of mine made a small frame that sits on top of a trolley jack that supports the door as its removed and fitted.
Good luck..

 

[alfazagato]

Yes, remove the hinges and start again. I have found that despite being as careful as one can to keep the alignment of the doors the new hinge pins throw everything out anyway. Frankly its not rocket science to rehang the doors, just keep a careful eye out for the edges whilst hanging and the location of the shims when removing. The dolly on a trolley jack sound a really good idea.

 

[roller]

fantastic responses, thanks guys.
this helps me a lot. looks like i'll take the hinges off -- i'll spend some time thinking about how to balance the doors as i remove them...

i'm going to replace the detente strap, as well as the plastic sheet that was supposed to keep water off the floor pans (not!).
for some reason the left and right window cranks go in the opposite direction (one cranks forward to go up, the other back). and there are two separate keys for the left and right door locks.
my thinking is that some time ago the passenger door was replaced. i've also got some new felt to install.

i get the feeling this is going to be one of the biggest jobs i've undertaken on this car -- wish me luck.

john

 

[spannerman]

Ive never owned an old Alfa that doesnt require at least 4 keys. One of those Alfa things....

 

[alfazagato]

The plastic sheet that you note is in fact a dampproof membrane designed to keep moisture off the door card and with the bottom edge tucked into the door void, to deflect water back into the door. Seal carefully on three sides and tuck the bottom edge in and you should have no problems.

 

[roller]

thanks spanner & stuart.
i'm very much interested in fixing the water
drainage on these doors...it's the reason i had to spend so much money getting the floor pans replaced!

john

 

[roller]

passenger door off!

thanks to all the great advice i got, i was able to
remove the passenger-side door.
i couldn't get one of the screws that held the limiting strap loose, so i took the entire hinge off
the body. i think the po painted the hex screws shut -- it took a lot of reefing to get them loose.

i'm getting ready to take the door apart, and replace the limiting strap, door handles, plastic sheet, and felt.

funny thing -- there were no shims on the hinges.
it could be that the door was replaced years ago with shims discarded in the process...

anyway, thanks again for advice!

john

 

[604doc]

I didn't find any shims when I did mine last year either.

 

[AlfistiSA]

Roller

There are 2 distinctly different hinges, the early ones have a vertical check strap covered in a moulded rubber, which rolls between 2 vertical rollers in the door portion.

The later ones have a horizontal strap which uses the actual shape of the thick metal strap to actuate the first & second door opening position.

I don't think that they are interchangeable & the early ones, (like you have), are waaaay more expensive.....of course.

Check out the European suppliers, Alfamann / Classic Alfa / Alfaholics, etc for the right bits.

The picture shows a sedan door hinge - accessability is different to the Coupe's - take the doors off.

Cheers
Greig
Sunny South Africa
everything has early hinges........... sigh

 

[604doc]

Also, check out the thread titled "refreshing a '71 GTV" started by papajam awhile ago. That's where I got all the info to do mine. Worked great.

 

[roller]

thanks nelson & greig (great to hear from you greig!).

i got the panel off the door, and removed three sheets of plastic (2 big ones & one small one).
i'll start looking inside it to understand the mechanisms.

i want to understand the window crank, as it cranks the opposite of the driver's door. it may require reversing? also, i got new door handles on ebay (with a matching key!) that i'd like to install.

now that i'm dug in this far, and since i'm thinking about doing the body work fairly soon, it seems a shame to re-assemble everything just to take it apart again for painting. this means i'd better hurry up and decide on a color! do most people take the doors off to paint? any other precautions that a neophyte might miss?

john

 

[quadrifoglio]

John,

The best replacement for the waterproof membrane (sheet of plastic) is an anti-microbial shower curtain!