Hinge question.

I am replacing a hood and a door on my project car, so my question is this.

Is it better/easier to have the hinge already on the car or on the actual part being mounted in this case the door or hood?

Any other tips would be greatly appreciated to prevent damage or scratching to part or vehicle.

Thanks.

all depends on the design of the door and car. With my fiat, the hinge slots into the car door, so it is easier to have the hinge already (lightly) bolted to the car.

When I swapped doors (rusty for non-rusty) on my BMW 328i the hinge pin just screwed in/out so the hinge parts just stayed bolted to the door and car respectively - something to look at for the doors.

As a general guideline I have the hood hinge bolted to the vehicle and then mount the hood to the hinge. It's easier as typically all of your adjustments come in at the hood / hinge mount, rather than at the hinge / body mount. in doing such go finger tight on your hood / hinge bolts. Adjust your gaps as needed, then crank 'em down and recheck your alignment. Bolting the hinge onto the hood first is a PITA trying to get everything to line up while juggling the hood on your shoulders trying not to scratch that fresh paint and get the hinge bolts aligned. Much easier to "rest" the hood right above the hinge, go finger tight on the bolts and go from there.

For doors - I tend to have the hinge on the door and hang them that way as I've found that has worked the easiest for me through the years - for similar reasons to why I mount hoods the way I do. Though there are some hinge styles that differ in their requirements as far as their adjustments and mounting styles go.

Gary_C wrote: As a general guideline I have the hood hinge bolted to the vehicle and then mount the hood to the hinge. It's easier as typically all of your adjustments come in at the hood / hinge mount, rather than at the hinge / body mount. in doing such go finger tight on your hood / hinge bolts. Adjust your gaps as needed, then crank 'em down and recheck your alignment. Bolting the hinge onto the hood first is a PITA trying to get everything to line up while juggling the hood on your shoulders trying not to scratch that fresh paint and get the hinge bolts aligned. Much easier to "rest" the hood right above the hinge, go finger tight on the bolts and go from there. For doors - I tend to have the hinge on the door and hang them that way as I've found that has worked the easiest for me through the years - for similar reasons to why I mount hoods the way I do. Though there are some hinge styles that differ in their requirements as far as their adjustments and mounting styles go.

Thanks.................good advice.