Just bought a 69 c10 and cant wait to start restoring it. Question , the door hinges should I replace just the pins or the hinge itself. I am trying to get a great alignment with door.
Save the factory hinges if possible, the re-pops are never as good. If the pin has wallowed out the hole in the hinge bracket they make bushings to reduce back to factory size. We did not have much luck drilling the hole to the OD of the bushing using a regular drill (bit) as the drill would follow the easiest path which is the wallowed out area. A tiny bit off at this point throws the door out of alignment. To put the bushings in exactly on center we clamp the hinge on the vertical mill table and first use an end mill the size of the factory pin. The wear is always on the side that supports the doors weight so the opposite side is not worn. By carefully adjusting the mill table the factory pin size mill can be aligned with the unworn area and then that end mill is replaced with one the size of the reducer bushing OD. The pins are often not a standard diameter so measure the diameter at an unworn spot if going with a new factory pin. The hinge bushing kit usually comes with correct pins. Sounds involved but a good shop should do all four for around a $100. Cheaper and BETTER than replacement ones.
