Door hinge play....

How does one measure how much play is too much on a mid '50's 2 door door hinge once it is out of the car?

I am in the process of converting a 4 door wagon into a 2 door and the doors and hinges have all ready been pulled.
Three out of the 4 hinges are tight to move. One moves freely. If I chuck them up in a vice there is a small amount of play in them. How much is "OK"? How much movement would be an indicator that I need to do a rebuild.

Glenn

 

Usually if you feel any movement, the bushings should be replaced. That said, it's just an adjustment issue unless the bushings are completely shot.

I've seen hinges with worn bushings that were adjusted correctly and performed very well. If you have the hinges out, replace the bushings. It is a fairly easy job.

 

Grab the back of the door, if you can move it up and down noticably then you probably need to redo the hinges. I guess it's too late for that test now, eh? I'd see about rebushing the one that is not tight, at a minimum

 

Hinge pins and bushings are cheap. Why not replace and forget it ?

 

It's super critical that your hinges are tight for door alignment during the 2 door conversion, so it's worth every penny and every minute to rebush the loose hinge. No play is good when you're doing that kind of work. I know I had to swap out some of mine on my '60 Fury when I did the 2 door conversion, one turned out to be bent and would have caused a ton of trouble. 4 door hinges seem to wear less if you need to find replacements.

Curious to know what year/model of wagon you're working on.

 

Its a '55 Merc wagon. I intend it to end up a sedan-delivery. These are not simple like the newer ones (pardon the poor pics):

 

I overhaul all types of door/tailgate hinges. The 54-55 ford/Merc hinge has no bushings and an odd size pin that is not reproduced by any one but me. When this type of hinge is rebuilt we bore out the body and press in oilite bushings. The bushings are then bored out to match the new pins. HAMB members get a 10% discount on hinge rebuilding.

Fritz

 

Off the car, they should be so tight, they are hard to open and close. ANy movement on the car means they should be rebushed.