Door Hinge Shims

[iflyfisher]

I picked up some donor doors for my 73 K20. I noticed in taking off the driver door the upper hinges had a single washer shim while the bottom hinge had two washers under each bolt. I put on the donor door and the vertical gap along the B pillar was still a bit wide. I moved the hinge mounted to the body as far back as possible, but the gap is still too wide. The gap looks like it could use another washer shim. That would put three between the hinge and the door on the lower hinge and two on the upper. How common is it to need that much of a shim to get the doors aligned? I looked at the passenger side, and there are no washers between the hinge and the door on that side.

Curious

 

[waterpirate]

Paging Keith.
Eric

 

[TotalyHucked]

Got any pictures? I've taken several of these trucks apart and never found shims under the hinge. Inward and outward toward or away from the cab is adjusted on the door side, forward/backward and up/down is done on the cab side. Sounds like maybe your truck had some trauma at the pillar or someone didn't know what they were doing. If the gap is still wide at the A-pillar, take the shims completely out and try again

 

[iflyfisher]

Thanks for the replies Gents. Attached are some pix for reference. You can’t see the gap at the bottom due to the camera angle, and I have a replacement rocker clamped in. The top door side has single washer shims. The bottom door side has two washer shims. The truck side of the bottom hinge is pushed back as far as possible. Looks to me as the door side top and bottom hinges need one more washer.

The truck could have had some trauma, but it is my Dad’s ol’ truck, and I am not aware of any meaningful damage.

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[TotalyHucked]

Yeah there shouldn't be any shims or washers under the hinge, either at the cab side or the door side. All your adjustment is in the hinge, if you need more, open up the holes on the hinge. Those washers being there lessens the contact patch quite a bit and could cause cracking over time, especially on the door side. You need the full contact patch. Someone in the past didn't know what they were doing.

 

[iflyfisher]

Thanks Zach for the feedback. Something must have impacted the cab in the past, though I really haven't found any damage. I have the lower hinge on the body side as far towards the rear of the truck as I can get it. The top hinge cannot be shifted forward or backward as there is a single bolt attached from inside the cab that I don't see how to access. I still need about 1/4" on the top and 3/8" on the bottom to shift the door toward the rear of the truck and get the gaps somewhat even. I'll have to make some sort of shim plate that resembles the foot of the hinge to improve the contact patch relative to using washers. But I need something, or I will have a 5/8" gap along the rearward edge of the door.

Ken

 

[legopnuematic]

They are a bit tricky to get to. Deep socket and a 3" extension should do it though.

Drivers side. To left is the dash, above the vent holes

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Passenger side.

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[bucket]

There shouldn't be shims there, but it's a quick way of adjusting the door with the fender still mounted.

As for causing stress cracks, if proper rectangular shims are used, it won't be an issue. It can actually make an improvement with spreading the load.

With all that said, the fender is off. Just slot the holes and slide the hinges back a little more.

 

[iflyfisher]

Thanks @legopnuematic and @bucket. I don’t need a final fix now. I am trying to get the door height close as I am replacing rockers. I can definitely open the holes in the bottom hinge body mount side to allow the hinge to slide back further. As you can see in the image, the outer hole is very close to the edge. When I get to that point, maybe I can weld a section to that edge, so the washer and bolt are not on the edge. I don’t see any latitude adjustment in the top hinge given than single inside the cab bolt. I’ll have to use a spacer on the door side. I can make a shim with the profile of the hinge base. I was thinking that shimming was a common thing. I was wrong. Curious how this door got so out of whack. This isn’t going to be a show truck so gaps will never be perfect, but I’d like to do the best I can with what I’ve got.

Pix of gap along back of door and lower hinge

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[bucket]

Thanks @legopnuematic and @bucket. I don’t need a final fix now. I am trying to get the door height close as I am replacing rockers. I can definitely open the holes in the bottom hinge body mount side to allow the hinge to slide back further. As you can see in the image, the outer hole is very close to the edge. When I get to that point, maybe I can weld a section to that edge, so the washer and bolt are not on the edge. I don’t see any latitude adjustment in the top hinge given than single inside the cab bolt. I’ll have to use a spacer on the door side. I can make a shim with the profile of the hinge base. I was thinking that shimming was a common thing. I was wrong. Curious how this door got so out of whack. This isn’t going to be a show truck so gaps will never be perfect, but I’d like to do the best I can with what I’ve got.

Pix of gap along back of door and lower hinge

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A few things:

So you currently don't have a rocker panel installed? If there is also not a full inner rocker or floor pan, your A and B pillars may be even more spread out than they were before.

Is this still the original door that used the washers to begin with? Or is this a replacement door and it needs the washers as well?

You definitely do not need to use any washers or shims. Just elongate the holes. Even that one that's close to the edge, just open it up. The bolt's washer will still have plenty of surface area. For the ones where the bolt comes through from inside the cab, you simply slot the hole in the cab.

 

[TotalyHucked]

Also, just be aware you're only going to get the A-pillar gap so good. They were junk from the factory and varied WILDLY. Here's my blue '85 and our gold '76 shop truck for example. Round eye trucks are especially bad/wide there

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[legopnuematic]

Also, just be aware you're only going to get the A-pillar gap so good. They were junk from the factory and varied WILDLY. Here's my blue '85 and our gold '76 shop truck for example. Round eye trucks are especially bad/wide there

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I’m curious, what plant was the gold truck built at?

 

[Keith Seymore]

Also, just be aware you're only going to get the A-pillar gap so good. They were junk from the factory and varied WILDLY. Here's my blue '85 and our gold '76 shop truck for example. Round eye trucks are especially bad/wide there

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Those are a couple of the worst I've ever seen.

K

 

[TotalyHucked]

I’m curious, what plant was the gold truck built at?

I'd actually never decoded the VIN till just now. It was built right here at Lakewood