door hinge mounts cracked

[mbouse]

spent some quality time with the '80 AGAIN today. yeash....you'd think FFO was a once in a lifetime occorance.

while spiffing 'er up (as is the memorial day tradition) wash and wax.... i discovered that not just one, but both doors have the top hinge mount cracked.

anyone here have the fotune of getting this fixed properly? i am no welder, and i need to pick the right person, and am sure i need to explain the proper procedure.

What is the proper procedure? should i expect to pull the entire door? can we prop open the door and just remove the top hinge?

HELP.

[mdrburchette]

Oh Mike! The dreaded cracked hinges mounting plates. I'd think it would be easier for anyone welding it to have the door removed from the hinges. I'd be afraid of a few things:
1. sparks would fly into the interior and the Spider would go POOF!
2. while working on the door, something would get damaged or bent while it was hanging by one hinge.
3. adjacent painted panels might get damaged.

Of course, that's just me.

[rlux4]

Dang Mike, I feel for you. What made you supect it, or were you just going over it with a fine toothed comb?
Keep us posted, your experience can help us later if we have to deal with the issue.
Ron

[So Cal Mark]

remove the door. find the best welder in the area and make sure you have lots of wet rags on the door to make sure the paint doesn't get damaged

[pope]

Mike, Mark, Ron or Denise,
Where is it that the door has this cracking problem? Where the hinge is attached to the door or where the hinge is attached to the body. Does it radiate from a screw hole?
Mike, got a pic of this fissure. Does it happen cause you try to slid in like Bo Duke.

[rlux4]

Pope, this keeps coming up as something to watch out for when looking at a car. It's the points where the top hinge mounts to the body. Too bad Fiat didn't reinforce that mounting point. Heaven forbid PO's would get in and out of the car using the door as a support. I make sure I warn everybody that rides with me not to get in and out that way, or use the top of the windshield. (Especially my son!)
Ron

[So Cal Mark]

I've never seen one crack where the hinge mounts on the body. It's always where the hinge mounts to the door. The problem is that the cracked surface needs to be flat for the hinge to sit properly and once it's welded you have a bead. It's also in a spot that won't take a support plate either. And to complicate matters, you have to cut a section out of the front door jamb for access. Try to do that without damaging the paint from heat. I had a welder that could do it perfectly, but he retired last year and I'm still searching for someone talented enough to handle the task

[rlux4]

I would stand corrected, but I'm sitting down. So I sit corrected.
Ron

[mbouse]

i was happily performing my annual, fine toothed comb inspection of the body. Yeah, i know i have areas that need this or that...so i keep an eye on them knowing when the major strip and repaint is coming.

but, this was unexpected, and undeserved! we don't clammor in and out like the door was a crutch. and, if i were to slip in w/out using the door, i would use Luke Duke's style, not Bo's (head first).

[mdrburchette]

Mike, Iknow this doesn't make you feel better, but that's a thin piece of metal holding up a fully dressed door and those 1/2 inch thick hinges don't give much. It was bound to happen...not your fault. Although it seems strange I've never seen an early model have this problem.

[So Cal Mark]

I have

[mbouse]

So Mark. Do you know anything about welding? I am taking the car to a welding shop tomorrow to have them look at it.

the first thing they will say is that they don't do body work. my prepared answer is that i am not taking it to a collision shop to do welding work.

then i stop looking intelligent. Mig... Tig... Stick... I know the terms, but i dunno what the major pros and cons of each are.

when i finally do find someone willing to do the work, what should i tell him... besides i'll shoot him if he ruins my finish on the outside of the door.

[stefhahn]

Mike,

the shop should not go for gas-shielded welding as this leaves some additional material exactly at the point where you do not want to have it - the doors cannot be aligned correctly anymore. A lot better - as this means metals flows into metal - is acetylene welding i.e. oxygen-acetylene welding. And - protect the welding immediatly after the welding is done using a lot of primer and some paint as otherwise it will corrode in a fingersnap.

ciao,
Stefan (who had to redo the drivers door with triple effort as some "yes yes this works"-welder did a *&^%$#@!!! job)

[Curly]

I noticed SPYDUH had the dreaded upper hinge mount problem on the left-hand door when I began stripping her down. If I remember correctly there is a captive threaded plate sitting in a pocket of thin gauge panel steel. The pocket is what cracks and allows the plate to move independently of the door. It's virtually impossible to repair without cutting some of the outer or inner door skin away, and since I didn't particulary want to disturb the outer skin I cut an access hole with a nibbler on the inner skin in the area covered by the upper, forward section of the door trim panel.
Even with this section cut away, access is still very difficult. Unlike Stefan (see above) a MIG welder (with gas) was my choice of weapon because it creates a nice clean weld with no slag or spitting. It is also possible to control the heat better than an arc or oxy welder and the head of the welder is long enough to reach right into the work, where a TIG might have been a bit short.
You must remove the door and clean the cracked areas back to bare metal before welding, then go at it slowly. I welded up the series of cracks, filed the welds down and then welded in a small plate to reinforce the work. It took me a couple of days to get it right, but I'm not a professional welder. The outer skin was not affected.
Sorry I don't have any pictures to illustrate the method - I can't understand why, becauseI have pictures of everything else!

[rlux4]

In that case Curly, I'm afraid we must insist that you repeat the process. And get pictures this time.
Ron