Needing door removal advise

[565bbchevy]

I have done a bunch of doors on Gbody's and always remove the door from the hinge because I feel these bolts are easily accessible but most of doors I remove are being replaced with different doors that don't have hinges so drilling alignment holes etc doesn't apply to the replacement door.
I have always found it pretty easy to R & R doors just using a hydraulic jack with a 2 x 4 that is long enough to support the door and then wrap it in a towel so the door doesn't slide or get scratched.
An engine hoist with a sling might work for installing a door but I can have a door installed this way faster than I can drag my hoist out and assemble it.

 

[69hurstolds]

Just a word of advice about drilling holes in the hinges for alignment. Some people even install a roll pin in the body hole to be a resident alignment tool as well. While this works great if you're using the same exact hinges going back in, most of the time the door being removed has been there a good while. While we all KNOW those 2 door cars' doors are heavy AF, they usually take their toll on the existing hinges meaning the hinges are going to get replaced with new ones most likely, especially if original hinges. If you rebuild your old ones, the drill method still works, but if you're putting new ones on, your drill holes are now likely useless because the hinge hole is gone. You'll be starting from scratch. You can do it, it'll just take a bit longer.

If the front fenders are off, I would go with the removing the door hinges from the body because it's likely the car's getting painted or other repair work that would mean taking the hinges off anyway. It's easier to access everything.

If you are replacing hinges, it's probably best to skip any hole drilling. If not, then it's likely better to take the door off the hinges and leave the hinges on the body. It's always your call, but this is akin to choosing which side of the toast to butter.

JMO.

 

[melloelky]

Just a word of advice about drilling holes in the hinges for alignment. Some people even install a roll pin in the body hole to be a resident alignment tool as well. While this works great if you're using the same exact hinges going back in, most of the time the door being removed has been there a good while. While we all KNOW those 2 door cars' doors are heavy AF, they usually take their toll on the existing hinges meaning the hinges are going to get replaced with new ones most likely, especially if original hinges. If you rebuild your old ones, the drill method still works, but if you're putting new ones on, your drill holes are now likely useless because the hinge hole is gone. You'll be starting from scratch. You can do it, it'll just take a bit longer.

If the front fenders are off, I would go with the removing the door hinges from the body because it's likely the car's getting painted or other repair work that would mean taking the hinges off anyway. It's easier to access everything.

If you are replacing hinges, it's probably best to skip any hole drilling. If not, then it's likely better to take the door off the hinges and leave the hinges on the body. It's always your call, but this is akin to choosing which side of the toast to butter.

JMO.

in the past I've traced the outline of the oe hinge with a marker and placed the new one in the same spot.its a really good starting point when replacing/or if you're rebushing the one you have.

 

[57 Handyman]

Mello, with regard to tracing the hinge outline, have you noticed or found that the hinge which attaches to the body has a tack weld?