The Money Mustache Community
Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: jeromedawg on May 21, 2015, 11:11:41 AM
-
Hey guys,
I feel horrible right now after what happened this morning. This morning I decided I would adjust a piece of ram board cardboard that I laid on the garage floor and under the car's carriage as sort of a car mat and decided I would leave my [driver's] door open and back out slowly. I have no idea what came over me but I either hit the gas or let go too fast and didn't react quick enough to brake and the car rolls out with the door open, basically causing it to bend backwards. It got bent so much that now the door won't close as it's misaligned top and bottom and there's also a dent in the fender. Not sure if there's any damage to the frame itself but the door is pretty much finished.
At this point I don't know what I should do. I called a local body shop and they ballpark quoted me at least $1500 to replace the door. Based on the pictures I sent him, it's not just a remove-a-dent job - the door is pretty much gone. This is on a Camry 93 XLE btw. I keep rewinding back to the point where I decided I would adjust the ram board and figured it would be a good idea to leave my door open as I back out slowly (I've done this before but I think I was still half-asleep this morning). Ughhhhh...
I don't think I want to spend that much to fix this thing, as the total worth of the car is probably no more than $1500 to begin with (even if it were undamaged). And it's pretty much not drivable too at this point as the door just cannot close. I'm thinking my options are either to salvage it or maybe donate? I don't know if I could even donate this thing though in the condition it's in...
Anybody have any ideas, advice or suggestions as to what I should do moving forward (in terms of whether or not to fix and if I don't fix, how to get rid of it)?
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/ZcsoCQECjnPZ1jsHKezzFLXxukbFgyo55pjQVBAQucPe=w1018-h572-no)
More pics here - https://plus.google.com/photos/103318432177109151049/albums/6151371625296729857?authkey=CM-8oK3v47PlGA
-
You could look for a replacement door in a junkyard and do it yourself. It looks like the front driver panel is also smushed and you'd want to replace that too.
-
You could look for a replacement door in a junkyard and do it yourself. It looks like the front driver panel is also smushed and you'd want to replace that too.
I don't even know where to begin to start with DIY body work... is this something worth calling insurance over?
-
Ouch! Sorry about your pain there. At least you're safe!
-
You have collision insurance on this vehicle? For that value I'm surprised, I would have been liability only. Or do you have some other kind of policy that would cover this? Anyway, if your deductible is lower than the cost to fix then sure.
If you go DIY you would look on YouTube or find a message board for owners of your car where they do a restoration job, very likely you can find a guide. There's also those big service manuals you can buy. If you have power windows/locks and stuff it'll be a little more complicated.
Sorry, I'm sure you feel silly but then again - be glad you are sensible and have a car worth less than $1500 to begin with right? You could have done this to a clown car ;-)
-
I don't have collision insurance on this particular vehicle, unfortunately. Not sure why we decided against it - maybe because it's much older and we thought it wasn't worth it?
The DIY auto stuff has never been my forte and I just don't feel comfortable doing something so seemingly huge. I'm sure others can break it down and figure out what to do but time is money as well. I think it would be difficult figuring out what to do (and especially not having the proper tools) even with Youtube videos and my very limited/non-existant experience.
I'm thinking it might just be a good idea to find an organization to donate to who will take it as is.
-
It depends how badly you want the car fixed, but I would call the body shop and see if there's a bare bones fix. Instead of getting a new door and matching the paint and all of that, see if there's a salvaged door that probably doesn't match. I'm sure that would be cheaper than what they quoted.
If that's not worth, my local NPR always has ads on how they'll take donated cars. They'll tow it and everything.
-
It wouldn't have been worth it IMO to have collision or comp on a vehicle worth so little, absolutely :-)
The DIY may seem scary but bigger stuff can be easier than smaller stuff. Here's the basic idea: http://www.wikihow.com/Replace-Your-Car-Door
But yeah, you could always donate it or scrap it and go find another mustachian vehicle.
-
Junk yard for a new door and a body man off CL. It shouldn't cost more than $300-400.
It's beyond silly you're considering junking a vehicle for this! :)
-
It wouldn't have been worth it IMO to have collision or comp on a vehicle worth so little, absolutely :-)
The DIY may seem scary but bigger stuff can be easier than smaller stuff. Here's the basic idea: http://www.wikihow.com/Replace-Your-Car-Door
But yeah, you could always donate it or scrap it and go find another mustachian vehicle.
Thanks, it just occurred to me too - what would you do about the key/lock? Would you have to swap out the one on the new door with the one from the messed-up door? The wikihow article makes it seem pretty straightforward, and I'm sure it is if you really know what you're doing. But given my current track record (especially with what I did to cause the damage initially) I'm pretty paranoid to do anything more... I know most people probably will say "you can't do any more damage" but I really wouldn't be surprised if I somehow managed to.
BTW: Looks like I could add up to $1000 of collision damage online (Geico) but that seems like kind of a shady thing to do *after* the incident has occurred.
-
Junk yard for a new door and a body man off CL. It shouldn't cost more than $300-400.
It's beyond silly you're considering junking a vehicle for this! :)
Definitely not considering junking but perhaps donating at this point in time. As far as finding someone on CL, I'm a bit paranoid hearing the horror stories out there... beyond that though it seems most of the mobile body guys only do minor dent/fender/bumper repairs. Seems hard to come across someone who would actually do that *plus* door replacement work. Any suggestions on search terms or how to definitely find someone who would take it up? I'm checking CL now.
-
Thats for sure shady! I would not do that! Haha
Good point, you'd swap out the lock with the replacement door from the damaged one I would think.
It's definitely a little work and a challenge but assuming you can find a replacement in the same color at a junkyard, much cheaper and badass to fix it yourself. No matter how you go, the financial impact is small (unless you go crazy and buy a clown car) so you got options.
-
Thats for sure shady! I would not do that! Haha
Good point, you'd swap out the lock with the replacement door from the damaged one I would think.
It's definitely a little work and a challenge but assuming you can find a replacement in the same color at a junkyard, much cheaper and badass to fix it yourself. No matter how you go, the financial impact is small (unless you go crazy and buy a clown car) so you got options.
LOL! I was actually considering doing a lease on a Chevy Spark EV a while ago back when they had some crazy lease deals going on (could get a 36mo lease @ 10k mi/year $0/down & drive-off for under $100/month. I'm not very far from work (4mi each way) so it would be the ideal situation for an EV. But I do have a bike and have commuted into work over a handful of times so far, and was actually trying to do that more (so I guess I really have no excuse because it's technically my only mode of transport!). Either way, I'm still not ecstatic about the way things went down earlier this morning... you do have me thinking about going the DIY route on this. I'll have to research and find out what junkyards are nearby though. Do you normally just call them up and ask them if they have Camry doors or something? Or do you just go there and look yourself?
-
I've broken a light and messed up a bumper, but never this level of damage (so sorry and honestly I can't believe I haven't done something like this yet).
If it was me, I would just shop around the body shops for the best price, and pay for the repair to be done professionally. I wouldn't get rid of the car or try to do it myself (don't have that level of DIY skills) and I personally don't trust craigslist repairs, but then I have had back luck with getting a non-licensed/insured repair myself (and live in an area where rip offs are common), so now it makes me feel better to go to a place I know I can go after if they don't do a good job. But that's me, so feel free to ingore. ;)
-
Junk yard for a new door and a body man off CL. It shouldn't cost more than $300-400.
It's beyond silly you're considering junking a vehicle for this! :)
Definitely not considering junking but perhaps donating at this point in time. As far as finding someone on CL, I'm a bit paranoid hearing the horror stories out there... beyond that though it seems most of the mobile body guys only do minor dent/fender/bumper repairs. Seems hard to come across someone who would actually do that *plus* door replacement work. Any suggestions on search terms or how to definitely find someone who would take it up? I'm checking CL now.
Believe it or not, that is minor. You just need a new door and straighten out the wheel well....That's a pretty straight forward job for a bodyman (person).
You can find horror stories in any service field....just do your due diligence and ask for references. :).
Start by posting the pic on CL looking for someone to do the work.
Just take your time and you can get it fixed way cheaper. In fact, you just might be able to keep the door you have
-
Well, I vote for DIY here.
You can get the part online (http://www.autopartsfair.com/toyota-usedparts/camry-1993-front_door.html?campaign=theautochannel)
The fender panel can come from the same source. (http://www.autopartsfair.com/toyota-usedparts/camry-1993-fender.html?fit_notes=90bca714b2c94d28cc6fd9bd0653e7b5&seq_num=2)
What I would worry about is how badly bent the mounts behind the door are. You will only find that out when the new door is fitted though. My path of attack would be:
1. Charge batteries in camera.
2. Order new fender and door online.
3. Take fender and door off, documenting where every nut and bolt come from and go to with photos. Have little boxes you can store fasteners in.
4. evaluate damage to mounting points of door. See if any adjustment is needed. If yes, then have car and parts delivered to indie body shop for adjustment and completion of job. If mounts look fine, go to step 5.
5. Install door (reverse of removal) and fender. Begin driving car.
6. Take apart old door. Salvage everything you can, including power window motor, mirror and housing, door switch, door handle, window, etc.
7. sell as much of this stuff as you can on CL/ebay to recover costs. Take door frame to scrap metal yard.
8. Use money to pay for paint on mismatched door.
EDIT - This PDF breakdown of your door's components may help... http://www.turboninjas.com/camry/bo.pdf
-
Junk yard for a new door and a body man off CL. It shouldn't cost more than $300-400.
It's beyond silly you're considering junking a vehicle for this! :)
Definitely not considering junking but perhaps donating at this point in time. As far as finding someone on CL, I'm a bit paranoid hearing the horror stories out there... beyond that though it seems most of the mobile body guys only do minor dent/fender/bumper repairs. Seems hard to come across someone who would actually do that *plus* door replacement work. Any suggestions on search terms or how to definitely find someone who would take it up? I'm checking CL now.
Believe it or not, that is minor. You just need a new door and straighten out the wheel well....That's a pretty straight forward job for a bodyman (person).
You can find horror stories in any service field....just do your due diligence and ask for references. :).
Start by posting the pic on CL looking for someone to do the work.
Just take your time and you can get it fixed way cheaper. In fact, you just might be able to keep the door you have
I solicited on CL and another local area forum. For CL though, how do you normally vet anyone who replies to gigs? I've never done this before...
-
If you have bent the door support leading into the firewall then the car is toast. Its going to be a lot more then 1500$. If the door jam is not deflected then buy a door for a couple hundred bucks, hammer out the front fender and call it a day.
-
I vote for brute force. Amazing what you can do with some ratchet straps, a pry bar, a 3 lb hammer, and a come-a-long. I guarantee you two good-ol boys and a 6 pack of beer could get that door open and close within an hour. The hard part would be making sure you don't break the glass in the process...
-
Do you have a tech school close by with an auto body class? Ours does work for just the cost of supplies as does the mechanics class.
-
If you have bent the door support leading into the firewall then the car is toast. Its going to be a lot more then 1500$. If the door jam is not deflected then buy a door for a couple hundred bucks, hammer out the front fender and call it a day.
I'm not sure what the door support or firewall look like but I can say that when I backed out it was just the actual door itself that was caught and bent forward - it bent so far back that it cause the crease in the fender. I see that the hinges are somewhat bent and 'lifted' out. Aside from that I didn't run the frame of the car into the side or anything that I'm aware of. And no windshield cracking. So I *think* it may just be the door and fender at this point that are damaged.
Got a quote from a guy via CL who would be able to come on-site and fix everything for a quoted $750...
Other than the damage caused to the car door, there was fortunately little damage done to the side of the carport. Just what appears to be some nicks and marks... the only damage I stupidly did do was when I put the car back into drive, panicked again, and put a nice dent into our chest freezer - had I not hit the brakes in time I would have absolutely crushed it [and not in a good way!]. I can't believe I screwed up so bad backing out and then pulling in again. WTH is wrong with me...
-
Do you have a tech school close by with an auto body class? Ours does work for just the cost of supplies as does the mechanics class.
There might be something not far but the problem is that I can't drive the thing because the door won't close. Maybe I can figure out how to brute-force it but at this point I've already figured out where to detach the wire harness (and did so) and started loosening the bolts. Now the decision really is to figure out if I want to keep going (and hunt for a door and fender from Pick Your Parts, etc, or if I want to cut my losses (mostly the time spent figuring all this out and doing it) and just donate the darned thing. Or if I want to pay the $750~ assuming this guy is legit and I've successfully vetted him.
-
I vote for brute force. Amazing what you can do with some ratchet straps, a pry bar, a 3 lb hammer, and a come-a-long. I guarantee you two good-ol boys and a 6 pack of beer could get that door open and close within an hour. The hard part would be making sure you don't break the glass in the process...
I have to agree with So Close on this. My Son wrecked his car, rear ended a big truck and the hitch buried into his front end. Had my brother come over and help me. Bought new hood, bumper, and fenders at pick n pull. Hooked up a tow strap to my Durango and pulled the front end out. Removed the radiator support and used a sledge to realign it. Hammered out a few things and put on the replacement pick n pull parts. Cost ~$500 in parts and a few hours of time.
-
I vote for brute force. Amazing what you can do with some ratchet straps, a pry bar, a 3 lb hammer, and a come-a-long. I guarantee you two good-ol boys and a 6 pack of beer could get that door open and close within an hour. The hard part would be making sure you don't break the glass in the process...
I have to agree with So Close on this. My Son wrecked his car, rear ended a big truck and the hitch buried into his front end. Had my brother come over and help me. Bought new hood, bumper, and fenders at pick n pull. Hooked up a tow strap to my Durango and pulled the front end out. Removed the radiator support and used a sledge to realign it. Hammered out a few things and put on the replacement pick n pull parts. Cost ~$500 in parts and a few hours of time.
+2 for brute force.
-
I replaced a door on my similar vintage Ford a number of years ago. It wasn't too difficult IIRC.
If the frame of the car isn't damaged, I'd suggest to give it a crack :)
-
Thanks all, I ended up removing the door earlier when my father in law came by. He was just like "yeah just take it off" lol so we did. I guess this Sunday I'll stop by the junkyard to see if they have anything. Not sure if I want to be picky about color or if I should just take whatever they have. I just don't want this to turn into a super long-term project because I wanted a matching color... the color I have is pretty rare to begin with so we'll see. Next part is removing the fender - it might be possible to hammer out some of the denting but we'll see. Debating if I should also look for a fender from the junkyard as well... I think this Friday night and Saturday will be spent trying to get the fender off. I removed most of the bolts but I think there's some screws in the wheel well. I read that some people were saying you need to remove the wheel where others say you don't really need to but it'll be a little more difficult. I'd really like to avoid having to remove the wheel at this point... I'm not confident that I could slip the new door & hinges in without first removing the fender (the fender partially blocks one of the hinge bolts so I think I'd have to remove it for sure.
-
its not the end of the world but depending on how damaged the hinge post is it might take some time.
-
Go to a pick and pull junkyard and pull the door and quarter panel yourself so you know exactly how it came off and goes back on. If you screw it up when you are taking it off the junkyard car you don't have to worry because you just pay for the parts you are taking out. It is also a good way to practice your DIY skills. Your car is a very common car and it should be prevalent in junkyards. If you are in the denver area there is a pick in pay that is very good.
If the mounts are slightly out of alignment just use a good heavy hammer
-
its not the end of the world but depending on how damaged the hinge post is it might take some time.
True, from what I can see, it doesn't seem like the post/frame are damaged. At least, I hope not. It seems like the hinges themselves just got bent backwards - when I look at them they don't sit flush against the post like the passenger side and you can see the gap and lift where the hinge is coming off from the post. I guess when I remove the fender and the current hinges, I'll see if there's an indent in the part of the hinge is where the bolt closer to the front of the car is. If there is that might make things difficult... we'll see
Go to a pick and pull junkyard and pull the door and quarter panel yourself so you know exactly how it came off and goes back on. If you screw it up when you are taking it off the junkyard car you don't have to worry because you just pay for the parts you are taking out. It is also a good way to practice your DIY skills. Your car is a very common car and it should be prevalent in junkyards. If you are in the denver area there is a pick in pay that is very good.
If the mounts are slightly out of alignment just use a good heavy hammer
Yep, that's my plan this Sunday. Tonight and tomorrow I'm planning to work on removing the panel so I know how to get it off before I get there. I'll probably ask them if they have any pre-pulled parts beforehand to save on the trouble. Otherwise, I'll be bringing a bunch of tools anyway.
-
A little tip.
If the hinges are pushed too far forward.. like the ends up not being enough adjustment to get the door backwards far enough you can to this.. Its a bit violent but it works (I had a friend do EXACTLY what you just did) and I fixed it for him.
Open the door and take like a 3/8ths nut and tape it to the plate of the door hinge (its usually the bottom one). So now you have a nut held to the hinge plae with tape.. such that when you close the door it will spread the hinge apart.
The SLAM the door closed hard.. (best to close your eyes when you do this).
I was amazed at how well it worked and when we'd finished you could tell anything had happened.
Leave the fender off and fit the door first... work it such that you have an even gap all the way round the door. The fit the fender to the door and hood.
-
A little tip.
If the hinges are pushed too far forward.. like the ends up not being enough adjustment to get the door backwards far enough you can to this.. Its a bit violent but it works (I had a friend do EXACTLY what you just did) and I fixed it for him.
Open the door and take like a 3/8ths nut and tape it to the plate of the door hinge (its usually the bottom one). So now you have a nut held to the hinge plae with tape.. such that when you close the door it will spread the hinge apart.
The SLAM the door closed hard.. (best to close your eyes when you do this).
I was amazed at how well it worked and when we'd finished you could tell anything had happened.
Leave the fender off and fit the door first... work it such that you have an even gap all the way round the door. The fit the fender to the door and hood.
The other problem is that the door kind of got bent out of alignment with the frame itself. So I could get it to the point where it would contact the frame but the door ended up sitting lower than the frame did, or the angles were screwed up, so basically the leather interior I think was contacting the weather stripping/plastic foot guard thing. I think even if I tried this it still may not work.
-
I'd go for replacing both door and fender from a junkyard. I fixed some similar damage from the d-side fender of my Toyota pickup (I dropped a tree on it!!!!) but it was difficult to do so and get the door and fender to work well together. The door has to smoothly fit inside the fender's edge when you open it. It's tricky and probably not worth investing the time and body tools unless you like doing that sort of stuff. Which sadly I do.
-
I'd go for replacing both door and fender from a junkyard. I fixed some similar damage from the d-side fender of my Toyota pickup (I dropped a tree on it!!!!) but it was difficult to do so and get the door and fender to work well together. The door has to smoothly fit inside the fender's edge when you open it. It's tricky and probably not worth investing the time and body tools unless you like doing that sort of stuff. Which sadly I do.
Ah so you tried popping the dent back out? Yea it's never going to be as perfect as before... I'm afraid that if I try to fix the fender (rather than replace it) I'll run into the same issue where the [replacement] door would catch the fender and potentially cause damage to the replacement door! It's probably not worth risking... Hmm, assuming everything goes as planned and I find a fender and door that fits well, it likely won't be the same color. So I'll probably be driving it around mismatched for a while... at least until I can't stand it any longer and want to get it repainted hah.
-
So I'll probably be driving it around mismatched for a while... at least until I can't stand it any longer and want to get it repainted hah.
You could also look into a vinyl wrap job, should be cheaper for the whole car.
-
So I'll probably be driving it around mismatched for a while... at least until I can't stand it any longer and want to get it repainted hah.
You could also look into a vinyl wrap job, should be cheaper for the whole car.
That's true... how much do those normally cost? I think my cousin did that on his Lexus... didn't ask though.
-
Well, you could DIY the vinyl of course :-) Or, buy good quality wrap online and hire somebody from a body shop or similar to work on it after hours. I think at a shop its anywhere from $500-$2000.
-
Well, you could DIY the vinyl of course :-) Or, buy good quality wrap online and hire somebody from a body shop or similar to work on it after hours. I think at a shop its anywhere from $500-$2000.
Haha I dunno about DIYing it :T We'll see what colors I'll be limited too... it may not be as bad as I think.
-
Paint for a door and fender should be cheaper than a wrap. For a fender to be painted on my Aulde Mercedes I'm looking at $350.00. If you ask for a blend into adjacent panels it will be pricier, but for your car I would just want a 'good enough' colour match and no blend.
FWIW, Carquest could get nearly an exact match off your scrap fender and you could spray paint it yourself for the cost of a compressor and gun. Buy cheapies at princess auto, and I bet you'll come in under $100.
Just paint the parts before you put them on.
-
Couldn't believe it when I saw the photo. I thought that was my car! Same thing happened to my car, the only difference was that there was a minor behind the wheel, and I was caught between the car door and the garage wall. My body pushed the garage door track off the wall and I ended up with some pretty serious, but hopefully not permanent injuries. A neighbor heard me screaming and had to run in and put the car in drive to get the car off me. Nightmare! Long story short: I made car, homeowners, and medical insurance claims out of one accident. Yippee!
Same problem with the door - couldn't close I and couldn't open it. I had to have the tow truck driver come and use brute force just to close it enough to back it out of the garage!
I had Geico and they took care of it. The body shop had to find my same car make and model and year for the door. Didn't realize then that they don't make new doors for old cars. Ha!
It cost $1000 for my deductible and now you can't even really tell the difference.
Glad you weren't hurt! It's just a car and it sounds like you're learning some new skills out of his.
-
A little tip.
If the hinges are pushed too far forward.. like the ends up not being enough adjustment to get the door backwards far enough you can to this.. Its a bit violent but it works (I had a friend do EXACTLY what you just did) and I fixed it for him.
Open the door and take like a 3/8ths nut and tape it to the plate of the door hinge (its usually the bottom one). So now you have a nut held to the hinge plae with tape.. such that when you close the door it will spread the hinge apart.
The SLAM the door closed hard.. (best to close your eyes when you do this).
I was amazed at how well it worked and when we'd finished you could tell anything had happened.
Leave the fender off and fit the door first... work it such that you have an even gap all the way round the door. The fit the fender to the door and hood.
The other problem is that the door kind of got bent out of alignment with the frame itself. So I could get it to the point where it would contact the frame but the door ended up sitting lower than the frame did, or the angles were screwed up, so basically the leather interior I think was contacting the weather stripping/plastic foot guard thing. I think even if I tried this it still may not work.
Yes you do this with a replacement door and fender.. not the existing one..:)
I have even straighten out a caved in rear end of a Ford escort by chaining the front end to a tree and pulling the back half with a tractor.. its amazing what you can straighten out..:)
-
Not advice, but relief from me! I did this as a youth to my dad's car. Backing out of the garage to straighten, left the door open--whoops! Miraculously they did not kill me and instead paid for the repair with the last of my college money. So you are not alone, and life goes on ;)
-
Thanks guys. I ended up visiting the junkyard today with my wife... we both got a nice sunburns but did end up getting a (white) fender and (dark blue) door out of it for $70.xx It was a 50% off sale at Pick Your Part and it was a zoo there... slim pickins on the Camrys as most were stripped clean and many had damage to the drvier's side fenders and doors. I actually pulled the door from what is considered a 94 Camry even though the sticker reads 12/93. Mine is 11/93 so I figured it would fit. I hope it does... the parts interchange printout reads that only 92-93 Camry doors will fit a 93 Camry. I think the only difference here might be the wiring so I may have to deal with fishing out all the wiring and doing some part swaps between my door and the replacement. I did buy warranty exchange on the door just in case but I think it may work out.
I'm wondering if I really should have pulled the white fender or if should have worked on pounding out the dents on the existing fender... too late now though - didn't get warranty exchange on it so I have to live with it.
Not sure what I'm gonna do with the old door and fender assuming this all works out. Strip those and scrap whatever can't be salvaged and sold? Is it possible to salvage/sell the glass?
As far as painting, I don't know if I'd want to deal with trying to paint the parts myself. We'll see...
-
Cool.. OK, not wishing to state the obvious (but I have done a heck of a lot of work on cars so what is obvious to me may not be to you). First thing is to remove the old fender and door and than simply hang the new door on the hinges. Then check the fit.
If you cannot adjust the fit to get a perfect fit, then you will have to adjust the hinges by bending them somehow. For my comments above you will see the "nut" method mentioned, this is the most likely thing you will need to do.
Alternatively, you can put the OLD door back on the hinges.. tie a tow strap around the front of the door.. then chain the car to a tree, then use a strap of chain etc tied to a tree behind the car and use this to pull on the door to gently stretch the hinges as necessary. This method is less violent than the nut method. You probably will bend the old door but you don't care of course.
I use my tractor to do this stuff as I don't have two perfectly spaced trees or posts available.
With luck you may not have to adjust the hinges (or not very much anyway).
-
OK I just saw your other pictures..
The nut method will NOT work with that type of hinge. But the good news is it looks like the hinges are removable from the door post if you have to.
Looking at the thickness of those hinges it may well be they are not bent, if so you can simply hang the new door on the hinges, line up all the gaps and then fit the fender.
If the hinges are bent and you don't have enough adjustment, then remove the bottom hinge, adjust in the vice (hammer) and re fit.
This is actually a pretty simple repair.
You may want to make yourself a piece of timber to support the bottom of the door so you can remove a hinge to tweak it in the vice if you have to.. either that or use a trolley jack with some rags to avoid scratching the paint on the bottom of the door.
I think you'll do just fine.
-
OK I just saw your other pictures..
The nut method will NOT work with that type of hinge. But the good news is it looks like the hinges are removable from the door post if you have to.
Looking at the thickness of those hinges it may well be they are not bent, if so you can simply hang the new door on the hinges, line up all the gaps and then fit the fender.
If the hinges are bent and you don't have enough adjustment, then remove the bottom hinge, adjust in the vice (hammer) and re fit.
This is actually a pretty simple repair.
You may want to make yourself a piece of timber to support the bottom of the door so you can remove a hinge to tweak it in the vice if you have to.. either that or use a trolley jack with some rags to avoid scratching the paint on the bottom of the door.
I think you'll do just fine.
I did remove the hinges and picked up new hinges with the door I got from the junkyard, so I plan on using those instead. I compared them to the hinges that were originally on and it does look like the original hinges got bent slightly out of place. I actually bolted them on last night and it appears there's still a small gap on the bottom hinge - there's a protrusion from the frame where one of the bolts from the old hinge appears to have pulled up and caused a bump in the metal on the frame between the bolt holes. I may need to try to hammer it down and flatten it but I'm going to try seeing if the door will actually fit and close as is first
-
Or you could just do this...
-
Or you could just do this...
LOL awesome. I think mine might be just as ugly with a white fender, dark blue door, and dark grey/gold rest of the body. Assuming I don't bother getting it painted.
-
Just a quick update to share how things have progressed... I'm actually pretty relieved though I still need to finish bolting the wheel well cover on. Additionally, because I let the car sit for so long without starting the engine every now and then, it looks like the battery is mostly dead :(
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/3WV23amXFw1oXjbsMkOFiGJStAQsNIsumfs85yPUbiUK=w944-h708-no)
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/YDfOdidMb4UUp1xJh0G8WvOjlCSCeBeH1SCZ2ksvFmrN=w944-h708-no)
I got a lot of help from the guys off Toyota Nation, otherwise I don't think I could have done it. Aside from some spare screws, which I hope don't belong on a crucial piece, it seems like the light at the end of the tunnel is nearing... except, I've gotten pretty used to commuting to work by bike or via carpooling with my wife :)
-
good job man. :)
-
Badass. Nicely done.
-
Nicely fixed, jplee! Are you going to keep the patchwork look? I kind of like it -- makes it a very distinctive "I can fix my own shit so there" MMM-mobile. Not QUITE as distinctive as the plywood door look, but in a good way.....
Thanks guys. LOL I'm tempted to leave the colors as they are. And while it's pretty ugly, I do agree with your thinking :D
-
Nicely fixed, jplee! Are you going to keep the patchwork look? I kind of like it -- makes it a very distinctive "I can fix my own shit so there" MMM-mobile. Not QUITE as distinctive as the plywood door look, but in a good way.....
haha thanks. i think i'd like to get it painted eventually... on that note, i got in touch with a guy of CL who offered to do the paintwork on the door and fender (matching and blending) and maybe help with minor adjustments to the door to get it aligned better for around $300
http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/aos/5111126118.html
Is it worth it?
Drove the car to work for the first time in a long time and I felt pretty self-conscious about the mismatched colors LOL! Oh yea, I started a whole other thread about the battery being drained too... ended up buying a noco charger for $10 and was able to restore the battery back to [seemingly] normal operation (hopefully it'll last a bit longer)
-
This thread is exactly why I love this forum. Problem, advice, awesome update, inspirational work saving money and learning new skills.
-
Nicely fixed, jplee! Are you going to keep the patchwork look? I kind of like it -- makes it a very distinctive "I can fix my own shit so there" MMM-mobile. Not QUITE as distinctive as the plywood door look, but in a good way.....
(http://images.thetruthaboutcars.com/2013/03/800px-VWGolfHarlequin-450x337.jpg) (http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2013/03/volkswagen-golf-harlequin-vws-strangest-idea/)
-
This thread is exactly why I love this forum. Problem, advice, awesome update, inspirational work saving money and learning new skills.
Between the help/encouragement I got here and from the Toyota Nation forums, I think I would have ended up spending a lot more money than I already have. I think to date, I've spent $80~ between the battery charger, the fender, and the door. And I hope to sell some parts that I stripped from the other door and reclaim a little back.
Of course, time is money too, and I probably let this thing sit for so long that if I were to count that time in dollars....well, I won't :D Of course, this did force me to ride my bike into work which I guess is also good :)
-
I just saw the thread, but I was going to suggest you weld the old door in place and enter the vehicle Dukes of Hazzard style. Throw a coat of orange paint on it and get a confederate flag (I hear South Carolina government has some for sale cheap).
Your fix was good though.
-
I just saw the thread, but I was going to suggest you weld the old door in place and enter the vehicle Dukes of Hazzard style. Throw a coat of orange paint on it and get a confederate flag (I hear South Carolina government has some for sale cheap).
Your fix was good though.
LOL, I might get in trouble here in LA. Or they'll just mistaken my car for the replica.
Next 'project' might be to look into replacing the AC Compressor. Except, I'm not sure I really want to deal with draining the antifreeze and all that jazz - seems like it's one of those jobs best left to a mechanic, unless I have a coolant recycler :T
-
LOL, I might get in trouble here in LA. Or they'll just mistaken my car for the replica.
Next 'project' might be to look into replacing the AC Compressor. Except, I'm not sure I really want to deal with draining the antifreeze and all that jazz - seems like it's one of those jobs best left to a mechanic, unless I have a coolant recycler :T
Might want to leave that for a mechanic since A/C compressors and systems don't use antifreeze :-)
Besides, to do it right you would need a vacuum pump. I actually have three and would give you one if you were local...they will probably end up in the dump when we move.
-
LOL, I might get in trouble here in LA. Or they'll just mistaken my car for the replica.
Next 'project' might be to look into replacing the AC Compressor. Except, I'm not sure I really want to deal with draining the antifreeze and all that jazz - seems like it's one of those jobs best left to a mechanic, unless I have a coolant recycler :T
Might want to leave that for a mechanic since A/C compressors and systems don't use antifreeze :-)
Besides, to do it right you would need a vacuum pump. I actually have three and would give you one if you were local...they will probably end up in the dump when we move.
LOL... coolant! Although, I think I would have probably caught and corrected that had I actually started researching what to do. But even then, I don't really want to mess with it so it all works out. Someone in another thread suggested the "spray bottle AC" - fill a spray bottle with water, turn on the fan, and spray at my face. I might just have to try that hahahaha
-
LOL... coolant!
refrigerant is the word you are looking for. :-)