I got hinge rebuild kits for Christmas, so I took a look at the challenge today. The way the top edge of the door curves over, it doesn’t look like there’s space for the pins to come up unless you unbolt the door from the hinges and take it off.
Not sure of the answer but look at the video WCCC has on this subject. From memory, I think they did rebuild one of the hinges in place but not sure which one or what year Cougar.
I have another one to do , and am not looking forward to it (1968)
Of all the projects I currently have.
Recently
I just removed the lower hinge(1968) to replace the missing spring, and rebushed the hinge while out.
Use a floor jack to support the door while working.
Replacement was just the opposite. WCCC video helped , because it helps do use the special fender wrench .
I wonder if the Tight Reach extension wrench would work on the hinge bolts… I’ll have to try on mine for grins and giggles. It worked great under the dash of my daughters car while replacing the blend door actuator motor. (2006 Honda Civic) tough bolts to get to as well.
Let me know if it does. The 1/2" hinge wrenches on eBay are running about $100 and the Tight Reach would be a more versatile tool.
I’ll try it this weekend and let everyone know.
Well, the Tite Reach extension wrench does work on the hard to get to bolts of the door hinges on a '69. '67 and '68 should be very similar but I can not attest to it.
My 1/4" sized Tite Reach was able to get to the hardest bolt on the hinges with little problem. The other two bolts on each hinge that attached to the car body could be reached with a u-joint and a regular long extension by opening the door all the way and getting to them from the outside near the fender. My 3/8" Tite Reach was too large (fat) to work.
See attached pics of the one that worked.
(Yes there is a 1/2" short socket on the extension actually on the bolt head. I just don’t have the ratchet hooked on in the pic)
Hope this helps.
I guess I’ll put my Christmas Amazon gift card to work and order the 1/4" version.
Well, I could not get the Tite-Reach wrench to fit. Instead of going back to one of the many other projects on my list, I rashly decided to remove the drivers door.
On the upside I did get the top hinge rebuilt. On the downside the bottom hinge had to come off the car completely, and if I’m not succesful in drilling it out tonight, I’m going to have to throw it away and go buy another one.
I have hopes that with the original hinge locations clearly marked, I can get the door back on correctly, but I know that realistically, I’m probably going to have to pull the fender off, then put the door back on, then line the fender back up.
Good times.
The great news is that my door doesn’t sag anymore.
The bad news is that it doesn’t shut now either.
Glad I did all this when my body work was done! This does not look like a fun job with a fully assembled door and car.
The fender comes off easily without removing the front bumper or grille. Just unbolt it from everything. Door adjustment needs to be doe with the fender removed.
Thanks for the encouragement, Royce. Getting the fender on and off wasn’t as daunting as it seemed. However, I’m glad the residents had vacated before I yanked it.
your fender gap may simply be you fender needing to slide back a bit. You want to alight the door to the body/rocker, hood to the cowl then fender to hood/door.
I pulled the passenger fender first before attempting that side … SO MUCH EASIER. With the door shut I was actually able to pull each hinge off and replace them one at a time, and they didn’t require any further adjustment afterward.
Very glad this project is finished because the passenger door was a real pain to get closed, and it kept flying open while I was making test drives around the neighborhood.
