Reaming sloppy door hinges for oversize pins.

[brianangus]

Does anyone have knowledge of reaming door hinges for oversize pins to correct door sag. A stock model A hinge pin is 0.25" diameter.  1932 and later hinge pins are 0.275" diameter. The doors on my roadster pickup have enough play that I can actually grab the rear of the door and lift it freely about 5/16" The wear appears to be on both the part of the hinge that attaches to the door and the part which attaches to the door frame.  I have a set of 1932 stainless hinge pins that would probably work, the only sticker being that the hinges are welded to the doors and to the doorframes. It seems to me that I should be able to shim the doors into the correct position at the rear, put a reamer in my electric variable speed drill and ream the hinges in place to take the 1932 pins, thus correcting the "slop".  Has anyone done this. ---It would probably be wise to ream the hinges half a thou undersized to keep the pins from working their way out of the hinge.---any insight is much appreciated.

[brianangus]

I gotta quit answering my own posts. After doing some more research and internet crawling, I have found that a standard model A closed car hinge pin is 0.233 to 0.236" diameter. The nice stainless steel ones which I have (they came in a bag with the project) are 0.244" diameter. Snyders Antique Auto Parts   www.snydersantiqueautoparts.com sell oversize pins which are 0.247" to 0.250" diameter. They also sell a nifty looking tool to assist with removing or replacing hinge pins. I still haven't found information on the reamer, but I know more now than I did 3 hours ago.

[enjenjo]

You can ream the hinges for oversize pins, no problem. you ream for a nice slip fit, most pins are knurled at one end to hold them in place.

[brianangus]

And where do I go to buy a reamer like that? Thats not really as dumb a question as it sounds-----just never bought a reamer before.

[enjenjo]

I can get them from a machine tool store nearby, but you can get them online at some of the tool suppliers.

[1FATGMC]

I can get them from a machine tool store nearby, but you can get them online at some of the tool suppliers.

If that doesn't work try Enco ( http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INSRHM ),
they are real helpful on the phone, their prices are fair and they are fast.

c ya, Sum

[Pope Downunder]

Does anyone have knowledge of reaming door hinges for oversize pins to correct door sag. A stock model A hinge pin is 0.25" diameter.  1932 and later hinge pins are 0.275" diameter. The doors on my roadster pickup have enough play that I can actually grab the rear of the door and lift it freely about 5/16" The wear appears to be on both the part of the hinge that attaches to the door and the part which attaches to the door frame.  I have a set of 1932 stainless hinge pins that would probably work, the only sticker being that the hinges are welded to the doors and to the doorframes. It seems to me that I should be able to shim the doors into the correct position at the rear, put a reamer in my electric variable speed drill and ream the hinges in place to take the 1932 pins, thus correcting the "slop".  Has anyone done this. ---It would probably be wise to ream the hinges half a thou undersized to keep the pins from working their way out of the hinge.---any insight is much appreciated.

Your on the right track, just a matter of getting a reamer.

The other way to do it is to 'close' the eyes slightly by heating and tapping around them, then re-reaming to stock size.  That is what I did on my '32, and it worked well.

[C9]

You may want to buy two reamers and do the reaming in two stages.

Reamers are designed to remove only .004.005 of material.

The smaller reamers in the sizes you're involved with aren't too costly.

About $5.00 - $6.00 each at Enco.