Traveller rear door hinge to pillar bolts

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53lake
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Traveller rear door hinge to pillar bolts

Post by 53lake »

I've run into an issue fitting new rear doors. Before drilling any hinge holes, I offered up the doors to the frame, and gapped evenly all round, trimming a hair where necessary.

Following the Haynes restoration guide, I drilled hinge bolt holes in the doors with the top hole 3" down from the inner rebate, centering the hinge on the width of the door frame.

BUT the pillar side of the hinge now sits where the bolts will end up going right into the vertical side window channel. Is this correct? I already cut and fitted the black channel runner, and pinned it in place. I can't see removing it and pushing a bolt head into it, as the window glass will hit up against the head unless I recess the bolt head, and that will be hard given that the side windows are already installed. Drilling the holes at an angle to put the bolt head to the inside of the channel doesn't seem right at all, and the bolt end then won't sit square on the hinge bracket. Maybe it's better to use a wood-threaded stud instead of drilling for a through bolt?

Every picture I've studied of Travellers suggests I got the hinge position correct. Does anyone have prior experience / advice? Unfortunately I don't have any of the original wood as a reference, it was all sold.
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ManyMinors
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Re: Traveller rear door hinge to pillar bolts

Post by ManyMinors »

Indeed. That is exactly where the hinges should go and the bolt heads should be hidden in the channel where the window channel sits.
They won't interfere with the window glass as there is a recess within the recess - if you see what I mean - designed for this purpose.
Yes, you will have to remove the window and the channel I'm afraid as you have done this part of the assembly in the wrong order....
Any decent restoration guide should cover that sort of thing. It is a bit more work but not the end of the world :wink:

It's going to look GREAT once it's all finished 8)
53lake
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Re: Traveller rear door hinge to pillar bolts

Post by 53lake »

Thanks ManyMinors!

I was afraid of that, but it's good to know I'm not adrift on the positioning... and thanks for the encouragement. This project has taken three years already, in fits and starts, but lately with cooler weather and COVID, it's accelerated a bit.

Once it's all done, I have an idea to post the top ten things I've learned about what to do and what not to do in a Traveller restoration. Might have to get another one to get it all right next time!
culp
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Re: Traveller rear door hinge to pillar bolts

Post by culp »

Nice job! I'll be tackling the same job over winter. Manyminors is quite right by the way
Grumpy21
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Re: Traveller rear door hinge to pillar bolts

Post by Grumpy21 »

Just reading this as it’s coming up soon on my ‘to-do’ list. Is there a template showing where to drill the appropriate holes?

Thanks

Gary
taupe
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Re: Traveller rear door hinge to pillar bolts

Post by taupe »

Mine has special spike headed 'coach bolts' fitted there on the top hinges ...they fit snug in the slot and cant rotate...you can make your own quite easily with a mig welder and suitable studding or threaded bolt and some flat bar

T
53lake
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Re: Traveller rear door hinge to pillar bolts

Post by 53lake »

So the lesson I learned from this was not to install the side windows until the rear door hinge bolt holes are drilled and the carriage bolts inserted.

As to positioning, if you are starting with undrilled new wood, doors included, start by making sure you have the hinges marked for their correct position. Upper and lower hinges are slightly different - the upper ones have a bit more of an upward sweep to them. Then mark the upper holes on both door frames (according to the Haynes restoration guide it is 3" down from the inner rebate, and centered on the width of the frame). The cutout in the aluminum panel will tell you the location of the lower hinge holes. Drill upper holes in the door frame first. Then bolt on the hinges, and clamp up the doors to the body. Adjust as needed to gap evenly all around. Then drill the lower hinge holes in the doors using the bolted-on hinge as the hole guide (doing only the top first will allow you a little "swing" if needed and keep the drill from wandering). Once the hinges are bolted tightly to the doors, and gapping is satisfactory, then you can take a deep breath and drill through the pillars again using the hinge holes as guides.

That's what worked for me - good luck!
taupe
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Re: Traveller rear door hinge to pillar bolts

Post by taupe »

This is the detail of the claw bolt from the factory drawings...
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Taupe
Grumpy21
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Re: Traveller rear door hinge to pillar bolts

Post by Grumpy21 »

Perfect, thanks. 🔝

What gap sized did folks achieve? 6mm seems a fair starting place. ???
53lake
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Re: Traveller rear door hinge to pillar bolts

Post by 53lake »

Mine is 5-6 mm between the doors and the pillars, and 2 mm between the doors. That looked right to me, but I did find that the smaller gap between the doors means that I have to close the left door before the right, otherwise trying to close them together results in the edges hitting. I already had to shave a bit off the center pieces as they were supplied to get to the 2 mm gap, and I wasn't keen on taking any more off.

One other point: When you bolt the hinges onto the doors, and then use their holes to drill the pillars, make certain the hinge bolts are snug tight enough first. If the bolt is not properly cinched, the hinge will be sloppy, then the holes you drill in the pillars will be slightly off, and you'll notice the gapping change once you tighten up the hinge bolts.
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