Replacing door hinges and paint

[PeterC]

Good morning!

I was given a new set of door hinges when I bought my Mini a few years ago. The seller's intention was to install them when he had the car repainted. I rather like the car's color and patina, and was wondering whether anyone here has had success painting the hinges only and installing them. The hinges do need replacing, unless there's a secret way to rebuild them in situ.
Is the task difficult? Will there be colateral damage to the door? Does it look good later on? I trust the paint can be well matched.
Any related experiences encouraged.

Thanks Peter C.

 

[Bruce Bowker]

External hinges or internal?

Bruce

 

[Steve]

I did that job on an frien's external-hinge Mini many, many years ago. Wasn't too difficult, although I can't remember the details.

 

[PeterC]

It has external.

64 Mini.... I forgot to say.


Peter

 

[dklawson]

Since you already have new hinges (no rust and you won't be buying anything expensive) I'd paint the new ones and install them. If you still have the little grease nipple covers protecting the rear suspension radius arms... these are removable and can be taken to the paint store so they can match the shade of your car. Remember that you'll need to have new insulators (the plastic/cardboard shims that go between the hinges and the door).

Things to expect:
1) The studs and bolts that hold the hinge to the A-panel and door will shear. The fasteners on the back side of the A-panel in the wheel well are difficult to access. Plan on buying new hardware to go with those new hinges.
2) There will likely be rust under the old hinge location, expect to do a little work there to prevent it from getting worse.
3) Getting the door cards in and out is a pain. Work slowly and expect the bottom edges of the cards to be rotten. Carefully pull the middle top of the door card in towards the passenger compartment. As soon as possible, reach behind the card with your forearm and gently bow the panel inwards so you can extract it.
4) The rubber drain tubes down from the sliding windows to the bottom of the doors will have rotted away. Do replace them with new tubing when you're there. I found some vinyl tubing at Home Depot or Lowes that fit well. Remember it has to go over the nipple under the sliding windows and through the pipe bushing welded into the bottom of the door.
5) There are angled washers on the inside of the door for one of the two hinges. You may find that one or both of them have split or are missing. Plan on making some new ones out of a piece of 1/2" aluminum rod cut, drilled, and filed to the right angle. (The aluminum rod is available at the hardware store).

Since you have new hinges to use, the project will be easier than if you were salvaging old ones. However, most or all the minor problems I mentioned above will happen. Just be mentally prepared for them when they happen and seek out your supplemental hardware before you start the repairs.