Doors falling off or sloppy?

[Chuck Poe]

Thought I would pass on a fix that improves the attachment of the doors to the body frame on T series cars, especially the TC. As we all know, the weak link on door attachment is the wood screws used between the door hinge and the body post. A tapered wood screw is ok when it is new and fully engaged. The problem occurs when "play" begins through use. You simply cannot tighten the screw anymore. We are then left with increasing the size or length-temporary at best.

I have found a solution and although it is not "stock", is not detectable. On my TC, I have installed brass inserts into the body timber. These particular inserts were made by CEM Corporation. The design of the insert features a buttress type external thread (flat on the pullout side) and 1/4-20 internal threads. A 3/8 dia. hole is required to install the insert and once installed, a standard flat head machine screw can be used to attach the hinge.

Pull out force of this insert is tremendous and the unique thread design does not damage the wood in the direction of force. You can now remove doors and reinstall without the worry of maintaining a tight fit.

Chuck Poe
chuck@trueform-tn.com

[CFritz7001@aol.com]

Chuck,
Glad to hear that you've successfully used metal inserts to mount your door hinges! Good information, THANKS!

The inserts you refer to are sometimes known as "threaded sleeves". They are available in several sizes, and at least two types (one type is installed using a straight-bladed screwdriver; the other with a hex key--the hex-drive type is probably better , since the former are easily broken if the wood is too hard, or the installation hole is a bit too tight), and in either diecast metal or brass/bronze. I have several of them, but just haven't gotten around to installing them.

I plan to use them to mount the strikers on the door latches, which are constantly going loose on my TC. My only concern is whether the large holes required will weaken the wood frame too much. Have you any comment on that concern??
Regards,
Carl Fritz

[Jennifer and Hugh Pite]

I too would be worried about the loss of strength in the wood frame when using an insert. I have found that drilling out the screw hole in the body timber just enough to reach sound wood and then carefully epoxying a wood dowell into this hole works well. The original type of screw can now be used. By the way, wood screws are not tapered along their length except for a short "lead in" portion near the tip.
Hugh Pite '48 TC '33 J-2

[Diecuts@aol.com]

Hi Chuck and all,

Brass threaded inserts are indeed a door-saver. I have used them on both the TA and SA Tickfords which have heavy doors with excellent results. MG designers knew Tickford doors were heavy and added a third hinge to help out, but as you point out, wood screws eventually 'get tired'. Additional areas for brass threaded inserts are fenders, hood bow frame, and door lock plates. For numerous adjustment fittings prior to paint, threaded allen screws go in and out fast, slotted screws of course for the final fit.

Cheers,
Lee Jacobsen, Dearborn MI.

[Austin R. Baer]

Woodworker's Supply (1-800-645-9292) 1108 North Glenn Road, Casper Wyoming 82601 has a variety of threaded inserts of the type Chuck Poe and Carl Fritz descibed. They list sizes for 8-32, 1/4-20, 5/16-18 and 3/8-16 machine screws (wood hole sizes 1/4", 3/8", 1/2" and 1/2" respectively). They also have hanger bolts (double-ended fasteners with a wood screw thread on one end and a machine thread on the other), as well as a variety of other unusual furniture-grade fasteneners, including bronze, and a line of thin shank, sharp-threaded screws that are designed to provide better holding with less chance for splitting. The web address might be www.woodworker.com but I'm not sure. Austin