Shop Talk Project Car Update

As this is written, we are all stuck at home, hiding out from the coronavirus, and if there is an upside to be found in all this, it’s that we have some extra time to work on personal projects.

- John McGann

Being a garage-dweller, your author has taken advantage of the quarantine to knock out some jobs that have been put on hold. We took on a door-hinge repair on Project Jake, our 1993 GMC C1500; pedals and a new brake system in Truck Norris, our 1967 C10; and made some progress on some engine builds.

Door Hinge Rebuild

A common problem with GMT400 (1988 to 1998) Chevro let and GMC pickups and SUVs, when the doors sag it causes difficulty closing the doors, wind and water leaks, rattles, and misalignment of the body panels. The fix is relatively simple—the door hinges can be rebuilt with new bushings and pivot pins—and we completed the job on the driver’s side in about two hours.

Sources

Auto Body Toolmart; 800.382.1200; AutoBodyToolmart.com

Dupli-Color; 800.247.3270; duplicolor.com

LMC Truck; 800.562.8782; LMCTruck.com

Rock Auto; RockAuto.com

Suede-Tex; 815.986.1097; FlockIt.com

Wilwood Disc Brakes; 805.388.1188; Wilwood.com

01 Looking at the hinge assembly, it’s easy to see why sagging doors is a common problem. The hinge pins are just 3⁄8 inch at the widest diameter. Combined with the thin bushings, these components support a lot of weight, as these doors are four feet long and full of heavy window glass.