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I am researching the fixings for the hinges in the A post of my 58  3A. The top of the door is standing off the bodywork by 3/8th”.  If I cut out a panel in the footwell I could access the captive nuts and cut them off. Then I would need a welder to spot weld new ones further in towards the footwell so that the door would now close flush with the bodywork. Is there anyone out there with a picture of the top hinge fixings inside the front wing cavity. Maybe a body rebuild with the front wings off. The hinge does sit at an angle and looks wrong. But the RHS looks the same and closes well. If you need my email address please send a pm. Thanks Richard & B

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Richard, I think you are being a bit optimistic about the ability to relocate the cage nuts.

How about elongating the holes in the hinge so you can move the door ? If you adjust the holes on both the A post side and the door side you will not need to enlarge them much in addition to any natural wiggle room.

Stan

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Hi Richard,

when you say 'standing out' do you mean away from the body work or pushing the door rearwards

Looking at the moss WebCat  here it looks like the holes you need to get at to push the door back into the body work is on the front of the door.

However if you can simply adjust ot back into place what has happened to the body work to cause the problem.

Roger

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 The door is standing away from the body sideways and not front to back.  The skin available in the Moss catalogue has caged nuts on the inside and the fixing bolts are flat head and tapered so that they locate in the recess in the hinge.  I thought that it might be easier to  access the nuts in the front wing cavity. I am assuming that they are caged nuts and not some other fixings.

If I manage to move the top hinge over will it affect the lower hinge pin. I am hoping that someone has a photo of a half built car so I can work out what is the original design.

Richard & B

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The cage nuts in the A post are buried in a channel formed by the A post and the side of the footwell. There is so little room the tabs on the cage nuts overlap. They are very difficult to access even with the front wing off.

 

a-post cage nuts.PNG

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On my 3A, all the caged nuts were U/S

I made a single plate from 5mm plate, drilled the four holes using the hinge as a pattern, tapped them and then made a carrier,

think cage nut system only bigger a thicker.

Advatage was you could put this where you needed, and one bolt in the plate let you move it around to start the others.

john.

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+1 for what John just said.

I did the same (tapped to M6) and it works fine.

I didn't put a cage around mine, just took care when removing the screws.

I took one out and replaced it with a 2 ins length of M6 rod. Then another. It meant that the plate would not drop out when the other screws were removed.

 

Charlie.

Edited by Charlie D
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Hi folks,

From Stan's pic is see how the hinge fits.

Unlike the TR4 -6 (where the hinge with door closed is 90' open) the TR2-3A closes onto itself when shut.

Johns answer comes over as very sensible.

Is this 3/8 step a new event or has it been like this for a long time.

 

Richard - the flat headed tapered screw is a 'countersink' screw   Screw

 

Roger

 

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13 hours ago, foster461 said:

The cage nuts in the A post are buried in a channel formed by the A post and the side of the footwell. There is so little room the tabs on the cage nuts overlap. They are very difficult to access even with the front wing off.

 

a-post cage nuts.PNG

Thanks very much for the picture. There is not much room but if I cut out the footwell wall it would be easier for access but even then there is not enough room to move the hinge 3/8th”. Do the hinge pins have to be in alignment , top and bottom?  Who is the hinge expert on here?   So I may have to find a proper coachbuilder who can cut  and weld the door skin Itself. Thanks Richard & B

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Wouldn't it be easier to change the hinge positions on the door?

Failing this, in my opinion it would be far easier to take the front wing off rather than hack into the footwell wall. While you're in there you could also do other maintenance jobs that may we necessary such as improving the rust protection of the exposed sill area and improving the rainwater drainage system.

It would be interesting to know what has caused the door not to fit flush with the body in the first place - when did the condition first appear?

Cheers,

JEFF

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Richard, show us some pictures of the problem you ate trying to fix. Fyi i used doors from a different car and repro hinges. Nothing fit. Even with cutting, welding, grinding and lead filling I still had to elongate the hinge holes on the A post and door sides to get everything more or less aligned. It took a few mins with a round file to elongate them and add back the countersink.

Stan

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I blame self isolation. I have fixed the springs, exhaust, engine mountings, carpets etc. Now my new project is the door. They came from a scrapyard in Lancing, Sussex  and the drivers is better but the trim on the top edge is too high. Did they alter the dimensions during production. Geoff Mansfield fitted a used floor to the bulkhead and both doors  are too high. Door gap is ok but not even. Usually I am just happy that it starts and runs well. Thanks to COVID I have more time and no deadlines. This is the year of the passenger door. Thanks Richard & B. 

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14 minutes ago, foster461 said:

Richard, show us some pictures of the problem you ate trying to fix. Fyi i used doors from a different car and repro hinges. Nothing fit. Even with cutting, welding, grinding and lead filling I still had to elongate the hinge holes on the A post and door sides to get everything more or less aligned. It took a few mins with a round file to elongate them and add back the countersink.

Stan

Send me a pm with instructions on how to attach a picture. Thanks 

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Hi Richard,

pictures are easy if they are stored on your computer

Firstly ensure the pic is no bigger than apprx 100Kb.

Go to the reply text ox at the bottom of the thread

Click on choose file

Find the pic on your computer

Double click to open.

 

Roger 

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If that were not painted there would be a simple solution.

A block of hardwood and a big lump hammer.

 

Seriously, DON’T mess about with repositioning hinges. All it needs is a bash or two in the right direction.

 

Protecting the paintwork is your biggest problem.

 

Charlie.

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Ive had to deal with that on quite a few cars were theyve had different doors fitted, usual fix as theres a fair bit of strength in the door frame and whacking it with hammer and wood wont actually do it, simple solution is to slit the frame across the join at the swage line and then "V" the slit slightly and then bend the top in to suit the scuttle and then re-weld preferably with a TIG . A competent body man could do that without harming the paint on the outside and then the only area that would need a touch in would be the area of the frame that has been welded.

Mind you as stated theres an awful lot of cars running around the same or worse!

Stuart.

.

Chris Veal ts57995 053 - Copy.jpg

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I have an appointment tomorrow with a coachbuilder in St.Leonards-on-Sea and I will print off the advice and take it with me. I am sure that he will enjoy being told how to do his job. Maybe I will wait in case he suggests this route as well as Stuart. 

My last plan was to actually cut the hinge itself and make the pin housing closer to the main body. ??

I will report back tomorrow and see where to go ?

Richard & B.

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1 hour ago, Richardtr3a said:

I have an appointment tomorrow with a coachbuilder in St.Leonards-on-Sea and I will print off the advice and take it with me. I am sure that he will enjoy being told how to do his job. Maybe I will wait in case he suggests this route as well as Stuart. 

My last plan was to actually cut the hinge itself and make the pin housing closer to the main body. ??

I will report back tomorrow and see where to go ?

Richard & B.

You cant alter the hinge position of one without altering the other as the door will bind up on the hinges, My above solution I suspect would be the easiest.

Stuart.

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11 hours ago, stuart said:

Ive had to deal with that on quite a few cars were theyve had different doors fitted, usual fix as theres a fair bit of strength in the door frame and whacking it with hammer and wood wont actually do it, simple solution is to slit the frame across the join at the swage line and then "V" the slit slightly and then bend the top in to suit the scuttle and then re-weld preferably with a TIG . A competent body man could do that without harming the paint on the outside and then the only area that would need a touch in would be the area of the frame that has been welded.

Mind you as stated theres an awful lot of cars running around the same or worse!

Stuart.

.

Chris Veal ts57995 053 - Copy.jpg

That is how the doors on my car and brother’s TR 2 have been fixed.  The RH door on the TR 2 is a NOS item and needed fettling to get it to fit and align nicely.

Peter W

Edited by BlueTR3A-5EKT
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