Door Removal

[studelover]

I have removed the hood, trunk, bumpers, interior and now I am ready for the door removal, what is the easiest way to do this is there a special tool? I see the very large philip screws, that means either I need a big screw driver or something unique. any help welcome.[8)]

Studes forever!

[klifton1]

More than likely an impact driver.
Klif

55 Speedster
42 Champ Coupe

[Rerun]

If I recall correctly, these screws would have a #4 Phillips slot. You can visit your local tool vendor and get a driver that fits a 3/8 drive ratchet or breaker bar (or an impact driver, as mentioned above). These flat heads are particularly difficult to break loose. A few days of soaking with Kroil or PB Blaster wouldn't hurt either.

Jim Bradley
'64 Daytona HT "Rerun"

[Guido]

This topic was discussed on the Studebaker Truck Talk site about a month ago. See the link below for a post by Gary Ash. If you want to see all the comments, go to page 6 and look for the thread starting with "M series lower door hinge"

http://www.network54.com/Forum/23885/message/1163362213/Hand+impact+driver

Good luck!


Guido Salvage - "Where rust is beautiful"

Studebaker horse drawn buggy; 1946 M-16 fire truck; 1948 M-16 grain truck; 1949 2R16A grain truck; 1949 2R17A fire truck; 1950 2R5 pickup; 1952 2R17A grain truck; 1952 Packard 200 4 door; 1955 E-38 grain truck; 1957 3E-40 flatbed; 1961 6E-28 grain truck; 1962 7E-13D 4x4 rack truck; 1962 7E-7 Champ pickup; 1962 GT Hawk 4 speed; 1963 8E-28 flatbed; 1964 Avanti R2 4 speed; 1964 Cruiser and various other "treasures".

Hiding and preserving Studebakers in Richmond, Goochland & Louisa, Va.

[unclemiltie]

The door hinge bolts actually have heads which are suppose to take a "pozi-drive" bit. Studebaker contracted with Stanley (and probably others) to make a bunch of these, the only problem was the plastic they used back then for the screwdriver handle was not that great, I have a couple and you can watch the plastic falling apart just laying in the tool box. I have often wondered why studebaker used such an uncommon head, I guess they must have gotten a good deal on the bolts???

I got my bit from Snap-on, it is a 3/8 drive so you have to use an adapter to put it on the hand impact driver. I have used both a #4 phillips and the pozidrive successfully and have found the pozidrive can make a difference on a real stubborn bolt.

Also a trick an old timer taught me, before trying to take out the bolts, actually use the impact driver to tighten them a little. This seems to jar some of the rust off and make removal easier. If the car had rust at all in the cowl posts, these can be real hard to remove as the the threads on the back end get exposed and can rust making it very hard to get the bolt out.

Milt

1947 Champion (owned since 1967)
1961 Hawk
1964 Convertable
1967 Avanti

[studelover]

I had forgotten that I had one of these impact drivers in my tool kit.I took your advice and heated the bolts first then pb blast them. I had forgotten how to use the impact driver you have to grab it in such a way as to twist it as you hammer it this action is what breaks the bolts. I got one door off and will wait until tomorrow to remove the other, I also removed the dash while I was resting.I should have those quarters off by next month then the fun begins.

Studes forever!

[Drifter22]

Hi, If you take the hinges off the car, can you put the door back on without adjusting it or do you take the door off the hinges. I want to take the door off a 1962 Lark to put on new door seals and don't want to get them out of adjustment. Is there some slick way to do this?

Thanks Gene

Gene Shambaugh

[whacker]

The best trick I have heard for alignment is to drill a couple of roll pin holes in each hinge before you remove them. When you remount the doors, you just align the rollpin holes and are back to the factory alignment. The factory alignment was not all that great, so this may not really help you. If you intend to paint it black or a shiny dark color, the factory alignment probably isn't good enough for you anyway.

[sweetolbob]

I'll offer my experience with my 54 hardtop. I thought I'd be smart after I hung the doors prior to final body work and adjusted them. I did all the priming and body work then removed the doors to paint the jams and sills. That was easy. Luckily I scribed where the hinges were on the door and masked that area prior to painting. When I tried to install the doors with the hinges attached, there was no way to do it without scratching the body. Removed the hinges and bolted them to the body, then installed the door. The painted area indicated where the hinges mounted. Went from there.

A long way get to my advice unless the lark is different. Remove the door panels, scribe or use tape to outline the location of the hinge on the door. Remove, fix the seal and reinstall.

My doors were close but not exact. I closed the doors, loosened the door to hinge bolts and shimmed the door to fit all the gaps. Then tightened the bolts.

Job done gaps good. Hope this helps. Bob

[Drifter22]

Thanks for your Suggestions. Gene

Gene Shambaugh