I hesitate to post this, but I've noticed that there are a few OCD guys here that might be interested in this, and even one normal guy showed an interest in knowing how to get a door back on the older cars in the exact same spot that he adjusted it to, everytime he takes the door off. So I thought it might be worth showing my way. Most guys seem to just drill two 1/8" holes and use a 1/8" pin to finally get it lined up, then tighten the bolts, and that does work, and may even be good enough for your purposes.
I remove and reinstall the same doors many times, so my objective is to have two studs for each side of each door hinge, to just hang the door on, then install and tighten the bolts. This method locks the door nut plate in place with threaded 1/4" bolts, and leaves a smooth stud for the door to hang on to. Its as simple as drilling two 1/4" holes with the proper drill bit, and tapping the hole. I use 1-1/2" long bolts that are not threaded all the way up.
Of course you have to get the door in the exact spot you want it first, but I don't like to drill the holes until I HAVE to remove the door, because things can change while still working on fitment or even repairs. When ready to drill the holes its important to drill as close to perpendicular as possible. Then remove the hinge and drill just the hinge holes again with a 1/4" drill bit with limited pressure to allow the bit to follow the existing hole, just removing the threads. Chamfer the edge slightly to help the pins find the hole.
On this Mustang I had to do the body side of the hinges, then remove the door to do the door side of the hinges.
If you have access to the back side, you might be able to install the 1/4" bolts from the back side and space them with larger nuts or washers, but there is a chance of loosing access to the bolt head after everything is reassembled, if it was ever necessary later on. There is also the metal retainer for the nut plate that is not flush against it, so it will be damaged if installing the bolts from the back side.
Bolt (stick out) should be 1/8" to 3/16" max--1/8" is best. It doesn't sound like much, but it does the job very well, I would almost say perfect. Being short will allow some leeway for the bolts to be off somewhat from perpendicular, and the hinge slides onto the short pins much easier also.
To get the smooth (stick out) for the hinge to rest on, just install the 1/4" bolts on the body, to lock down the nut plate to the body, without the hinge. You want to make sure there is no space left between the nut plate and the body, it can be a bit tricky. Run the bolts down all the way to the end of the thread, then tighten the bolts just slightly against the untapped part of the bolt, just a little past finger tight. Too tight will damage the threads on the body or door where the bolt needs to start its way in, and these pins working their way out over time is doubtful. Then measure the 1/8" (stick out), remove the bolt and cut it, then smooth out the cut edge of the bolt.
Its certainly too much work for most, but maybe not for a few. It takes time a realign a door everytime it is removed, but this method only requires a couple minutes to remount the door, with perfect alignment.
A few words of caution: The Mustang door hinge is 3/8" thick, and the nut plate is 1/4" thick, so that is a lot of meat to drill and tap a 1/4" hole, use sharp tools and back the tap off when the going gets tough. It also needs to be removed a time or two to clean it off. 1/4x20 tap needs 7/32" drill bit for steel.
I remove and reinstall the same doors many times, so my objective is to have two studs for each side of each door hinge, to just hang the door on, then install and tighten the bolts. This method locks the door nut plate in place with threaded 1/4" bolts, and leaves a smooth stud for the door to hang on to. Its as simple as drilling two 1/4" holes with the proper drill bit, and tapping the hole. I use 1-1/2" long bolts that are not threaded all the way up.
Of course you have to get the door in the exact spot you want it first, but I don't like to drill the holes until I HAVE to remove the door, because things can change while still working on fitment or even repairs. When ready to drill the holes its important to drill as close to perpendicular as possible. Then remove the hinge and drill just the hinge holes again with a 1/4" drill bit with limited pressure to allow the bit to follow the existing hole, just removing the threads. Chamfer the edge slightly to help the pins find the hole.
On this Mustang I had to do the body side of the hinges, then remove the door to do the door side of the hinges.
If you have access to the back side, you might be able to install the 1/4" bolts from the back side and space them with larger nuts or washers, but there is a chance of loosing access to the bolt head after everything is reassembled, if it was ever necessary later on. There is also the metal retainer for the nut plate that is not flush against it, so it will be damaged if installing the bolts from the back side.
Bolt (stick out) should be 1/8" to 3/16" max--1/8" is best. It doesn't sound like much, but it does the job very well, I would almost say perfect. Being short will allow some leeway for the bolts to be off somewhat from perpendicular, and the hinge slides onto the short pins much easier also.
To get the smooth (stick out) for the hinge to rest on, just install the 1/4" bolts on the body, to lock down the nut plate to the body, without the hinge. You want to make sure there is no space left between the nut plate and the body, it can be a bit tricky. Run the bolts down all the way to the end of the thread, then tighten the bolts just slightly against the untapped part of the bolt, just a little past finger tight. Too tight will damage the threads on the body or door where the bolt needs to start its way in, and these pins working their way out over time is doubtful. Then measure the 1/8" (stick out), remove the bolt and cut it, then smooth out the cut edge of the bolt.
Its certainly too much work for most, but maybe not for a few. It takes time a realign a door everytime it is removed, but this method only requires a couple minutes to remount the door, with perfect alignment.
A few words of caution: The Mustang door hinge is 3/8" thick, and the nut plate is 1/4" thick, so that is a lot of meat to drill and tap a 1/4" hole, use sharp tools and back the tap off when the going gets tough. It also needs to be removed a time or two to clean it off. 1/4x20 tap needs 7/32" drill bit for steel.
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