Door Hinge Questions

[sunbeam63]

Hello All,

I've just finished driving my 1982 Fiat before retiring for the night to read more Fiat related articles. I've only noticed the issue of the metal tearing where the hinge connects to the door. I went out to check on the shape of my doors. I've noticed the passenger side is fine, but can see some very slight cracks on the driver side. This brings up a few questions.

When should I worry about fixing this?

What are some tricks to make this door last, other than not leaning on it?

Does anyone have a copy of the tutorial to repair the door? I've seen it linked multiple times, but cannot access it.

Any and all input helps. Thank you!

[BwBrown]

I have had five spiders over the years starting with a 1968 850 purchased new back then. So far three of them have needed work in this area of the driver side door.

I just did the driver door lower hinge repair on my current driver. What was first assumed to be a worn lower hinge pin, turned out to be a work-hardened, stress cracked hinge mount area.
I pulled the door (after removing the door panel) and removed the hinge entirely. Fortunately, I am a fair hand with a MIG welder, and after cleaning and exposing all the affected metal (four cracks, most over an inch long), the actual welding and surface grinding repair took all of fifteen minutes.

For me, the biggest hassle is rehanging and adjusting the door - not my strong suit. After several hours of adjusting and readjusting and shimming and copious amounts of "colorful metaphors," door function, while it is far from perfect, is much better than before.

[AriK]

For me, the biggest hassle is rehanging and adjusting the door - not my strong suit. After several hours of adjusting and readjusting and shimming and copious amounts of "colorful metaphors," door function, while it is far from perfect, is much better than before.

I hear ya, it's a damn heavy door when you're alone

[narfire]

Yeup, hard to do by yourself. I have to get my driver door closer to what it is currently. Bit of a push to get it open and a bit of a drop as well. The stop straps have to get sorted as well. They don't stop the door before contact with the fender....
Always something to do with this car.....Been getting lots of therapy lately (Fixing It As Therapy)