Time to mount the doors.....Can anyone enlighten me, Please?

[EarlsflyinCobra]

OK, it is time to mount the doors on my StreetBeast (please,no bad remarks, I know of all the troubles but I'm in too far now to care) and have run into a small problem. Looking at the build manual it shows the door hinge mounted to the front (engine) side of the upright. I tried this as a mock up and the hinge does not stick out very far in the door opening but will contact the door. I also tried it on the rear (cockpit) side of the upright and found the hinge sticks out further and actually ends up right at the crease in the front of the door. Now, it looks to me like the hinge would work in either position but I am wondering if anyone has "actually" mounted it to the rear side of the upright and if in fact id does work that way. I spoke with one other builder and here is his reply;

Earl, It is the front side. I wanted it to be the back side because the doors would open alot more. Get you a pic as soon as I can.

Thanks for any help offered.
Earl

[1985 CCX]

Pictures will aid in the engineering and your success...
Add a couple.

[EarlsflyinCobra]

Picture of hinge swing attached to rear post

Picture of hinge position on door with hinge attached to rear post

Picture of hinge swing attached to front post

Picture of hinge position on door with hinge attached to front post


Front post refers to engine compartment side and is where plans actually show attachment.....rear post refers to cockpit side.

[1ntCobra]

Your 2nd and 4th pictures look identical.

[EarlsflyinCobra]

Look closer and you will see the gap is bigger between the end of the hinge and the crease in the door in pic 4.

[RedEye]

I need to mount the doors next week, so stay tuned I'll let you know how it goes....

[CHANMADD]

It seems if you mount it in the front position ,the upright will act as the door stop....ie the hinge will bang up against the upright , in the rear position you would have to manufacture a stop or the door will hit the front fender when fully open..........

[EarlsflyinCobra]

Actually, if you look closely at the extended hinge pictures you will see that in either position it will only go so far until it hits either the post or the body, so, it seems like the hinge could be mounted in either position, but, can it actually? That is my dilema, do I mount it like the manual says or do I go rouge and mount it the "EASY" way? Wondering wht the consequences of doing it that way will be? Obviously the door will open a little further but are there down sides to doing it different than the maniual? Has anyone done it?

[CHANMADD]

Hey. Did you wonder why they gave you a manual?.......just asking........

[Tom Howland]

Is there a metal plate inside the door with holes that match up with the hinge?

[COBRANIP]

Is it possible you have reversed the hinges (i.e., you are trying to mount the left hinge on the right and vice versa)?
If not, disregard this post!

[EarlsflyinCobra]

Chanmadd, Tom, and Cobranip, all excellent questions;
Chanmadd you have to realize that this is a StreetBeast kit and the manual, to say the least, SUCKS! This isn't the first time during the build that something in the manual would be totally opposite from reality. Unfortunately SB has gone out of business (for the umteenth time) and has not been reincarnated this time, so I can't call them anymore. They were supposedly rewriting the manual when they went south.
Tom, no metal plate, only directions in the manual of where to drill the holes in the upright and pictures of, supposedly, how to mount the hinges.
Cobranip, the hinges are identical to each other, the only difference is the way you put the hinge pin in. I've compared them 50 ways to Sunday and confirmed this.

[Ron61]

Earl,

If you have someone to help you, why not try putting the door in like it would be when shut and have them hold it and see which hinge mounting will work out the best or if you are going to have to modify some holes. Also if the holes in the door just go through fiberglass I would think about putting some steel backing in there to prevent the bolts from wearing through after being used for a time. I think getting my doors mounted and aligned so the top was even with the body and everything was one of the worst parts of my build. But I had steel plates in the door for the hing bolts to go through and mine had a heavy steel hinge that bolted with 4 bolts to a welded in panel on the cowl bar.

Ron

[EarlsflyinCobra]

Ron,

I thought about that and may try that as soon as I get a helper. The mounting area on the door where the hinge attaches does have a metal plate behind it which you drill and tap once you get the door somewhat aligned. I still need to look at the metal plate and see if it would accomadate either hinge position and if it will then I can try the two different ways to mount the door. I was kind of hoping somebody had tried the different location and would let me know if it worked out or not.

[StreetSnake]

I'll have to dig through my pic files to see if I can find a picture. I remember it was a complete cluster. We did one of two things; made brand new ones or what think we did was take the hinge apart and reassemble it. If I remember right, I'm thinking they were put together wrong. I'll see if I can find a pic. Glad to see ur getting closer on finishing. I miss mine, but my BDR makes me smile.

[CHANMADD]

If you let the door stop against the fibreglass body you will definately get cracks on the body from the hinge............

[mickmate]

Most hinges are tubular or plate and have a radius that allows the door to swing and clear the bodywork. The radius intrudes into the knee area when they're closed.
With the bent plates you have it looks like they will swing open wider if you move the hinge pivot back and in as far as you can.

[RedEye]

I have the original install manual... for what it's worth if anyone would like a copy. I tried to reverse the sides of the hinges and it's pretty clear that only one works on each side (not interchangeable).

Going to try to mount these this weekend, we'll see how it goes!

[mdross1]

Originally Posted by Ron61

Earl,

If you have someone to help you, why not try putting the door in like it would be when shut and have them hold it and see which hinge mounting will work out the best or if you are going to have to modify some holes. Also if the holes in the door just go through fiberglass I would think about putting some steel backing in there to prevent the bolts from wearing through after being used for a time. I think getting my doors mounted and aligned so the top was even with the body and everything was one of the worst parts of my build. But I had steel plates in the door for the hing bolts to go through and mine had a heavy steel hinge that bolted with 4 bolts to a welded in panel on the cowl bar.

Ron

Remember this was a pain but in the end did set the door in the opening shimmed to ride height then set the hinge in place it fell together except for drilling the holes.
Once holes were drilled in cowl support,drilled and tapped in door had to slightly egg shape a couple of holes to get the door in final position,Has not moved since 94.

[EarlsflyinCobra]

Thanks for all the support......I took a step back from the doors and moved into the trunk area.....figured/hope that when I go back to the doors they will cooperate and fall into place