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Making Door & Hood Hinges


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Paul you can also check out my fotki page for a '55 Ford I was working on.

This shows the "gooseneck" type of hinge for the kind of doors that swing away from the body. While the Turbine Car I'm working on has hinges that allow the door to turn inward toward the inside of the fender.

Hope the pics speak for themselves as it's difficult for me to put in words every little bend and angle that goes into making a hinge. Pretty much most of what I do is trial and error.

One thing that's important is that it's a MUST to have very good photos of the car you're working on. Not just the hinges, but the shape of the door jambs, (body and door) kick panels etc.

I haven't done much in the way of hood hinges, because if the engine bay is detailed, a lot of what is done is lost because the hood is in the way! :D

There are some exceptions.........(vintage 'Vette, Viper, Ferrari, T-Bird) where the hood swings up high enough to view the engine. But mostly the hoods just lift off.

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  • 7 months later...
:) I have a couple of models, 48 Ford convert and 50 Willys coupe with the hoods off. I would like to install the hoods with hinges. I'm not very skilled so am looking for a simple way that my limited skills could handle. Doesn't have to be super scaled or detailed, just working. Any ideas?
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The easiest way I've done it is to hinge them from the front using brass wire and tubing (See photos);

1) Cut a piece of 1/16" diameter brass or aluminum tubing about 1/2" long;

2) Insert a piece of brass wire about 3" long into the tubing with equal lengths of wire sticking out of both sides of the tubing;

3) Bend the wire where it comes out of the tubing on each side up 90 degrees, forming a "U" shape;

4) About 1" from each of the the first bends in the wire, bend both sides again by 90 degrees into each other, forming a rectangular shape;

5) Cut another piece of 1/16 tubing about 1/2" long and insert the two ends of the wire into the tubing;

With this method, you're going to superglue one of the pieces of tubing to the top of the radiator support and the other piece of tubing to the inside of the hood. Since all models are a bit different, you might need to put a slight bend in both sides of the wire, typically somewhere in the middle, for the wire to clear the radiator support and not make the hood sit too high in the front. You'll know if and how much you need to bend it when you put it where it will eventually be glued, working from the bottom side of the model.

6) Once the wire is bent to fit, superglue one end to the top of the radiator support;

7) Tape the hood in place;

8) From the bottom-side of the model, superglue the other end to the inside of the hood.

When done properly, the hood will open and close perfectly every time.

You may need to make the wire and tubing lengths longer/shorter, depending on the model you're building and how far you want the hood to hang down in the front when it's open.

Edited by Raul_Perez
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Great idea Raul, thanks. Unfortunatly, bodies are glued on, so I can't get in from the bottem.

Milt,

You could still use this method, but you'd have to use a 5 minute epoxy when you glue the hinge to the underside of the hood. Here's how I'd do it:

1) Make the hinge as described and superglue it to the top or front of the radiator support;

2) Place a small drop of paint on the portion of the hinge that will contact the hood, tape the hood in place and turn the model upside-down.

"If" all goes well, you should have a small drop of paint on the hood where the hinge will make contact with it.

3) Place a small amount of 5 minute epoxy on the hood where the paint drop ended up;

4) Tape the hood in place and turn the model upside-down for 5-6 minutes (depending on how well you trust that your 5 minute epoxy actually sets up in 5 minutes);

5) Turn the model back over, remove the tape and "slowly" open the hood. "If" all went well, you now have a forward tilting hood. If not, you have a small amount of epoxy on the inside of your hood that you can probably clean off, if all else fails.

If it works, I'd probably add a small amount of superglue where the hinge contacts the hood as an extra measure of security.

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Good luck,

Raul

Edited by Raul_Perez
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Since you don't have access to the underside anymore, there's really no way to make working hinges. No matter what type of hinge you make, part of the mechanism has to be attached to the underside of the cowl...before the body is glued to the chassis. There's no other way to do it.

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Here's a simple way to make hood hinges.

Bend some paper clip wire to make the left and right side hinge arms. One end of each arm is epoxied to the underside of the hood, and the other end goes into a length of brass or aluminum tube epoxied to the underside of the cowl (tube should have a diameter just large enough to accept the paper clip wire arms without the arms binding). These hinges are not prototypically realistic, but they work...and they're easy to do.

The exact placement of the hinge arms and the hinge tube depends on the model you're building. Try it first with the parts simply taped in place, to make sure everything works smoothly, before you epoxy the parts.

hinge.jpg

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Not to contradict Harry, but there may be a way to build a hinge even though the model is complete. Without the aid of pictures or a drawing, my explanation may be a little difficult to follow, but I will try none the less. This is crude and the hood will not be permanently attached, but the hood will open and close and with the aid of a hood prop it will stay in the open position. My first assumption is that you can get a small drill bit into the firewall near the left and right sides of the back of the engine compartment. If you can, drill a small hole being very careful not to damage the surrounding area. This hole should be about ¼ of an inch below the hood “flush†line. In another words, down ¼ of an inch from the top of the hood, where it matches the surrounding fender. The hole should also be about ¼ of an inch from the left and right edge of the hood. Got that, ¼ inch in from the side and ¼ from the top of the hood. Then get a piece of brass wire that is about the same diameter or a little smaller as the hole you just drilled into the firewall. Cut a piece about ½ inch long, maybe a little longer. Measure in about ¼ of an inch and begin a bend with a small pair of mini pliers. Make a bend that is just short of 90 degrees….about 75 or 80 degrees. Now slowly work that bend up going in small increments. You should have this bend coming up so that it forms a lazy “câ€. (I wish I could show you because it is easier to do than my explanation sounds) When it is done, the distance from the straight part of the brass rod and the bottom of the curve, where it starts to turn upward is just under ¼ of an inch. Repeat for the second hinge. Now measure in ¼ of an inch from the sides of the hood. On the underside, mark this spot and carefully glue the flat part of the brass wire to the underside of the hood, so that the “lazy c†of the hinge is curved down and then slightly up but be sure it is at the rear of the hood sticking out of the back of the hood.. The idea here is that the end of the curved part of the hood, goes into the hole on the firewall and as the hood is opened, this brass rod slides out of the hole and allows the hood to open. Once open, use a brass wire strut cut to the proper length to hold the hood open. I apologize if this is difficult to follow, but without the aid of a simple drawing, the explanation is difficult. Just be sure you can "see" and understand this design, before you take a drill to a finished model. Hope this helps.

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Peter...your method could work, if in fact it's still possible to drill the holes in the firewall of the finished kit. But it will call for extremely careful measurement, because if the ends of the "C" hinges don't line up exactly with the holes in the firewall, you're out of luck. And the hinges must be glued in the exact correct spot in order for the hood to actually line up with the opening between the fenders. You have two critical items...hinge placement on the underside of the hood, and placement of the firewall holes, with absolutely no margin for error at all. A very tricky procedure to say the least...

Edited by harrypri
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Of course Harry, the measurement must be done carefully. I would not recommend this except that the model is complete and there are limited options available here. Obviously, if the firewall is not accessable, this method will not work and this is a moot conversation. I guess you posted your second post just before I posted my thoughts, so I did not mean to step on your response. I have made hinges the way you described there many times and it works fine. I have used the method that I tried to describe also a number of times and it has worked just fine. True, I am a little more experienced, but it is not that difficult, especially if you use brass rods. They are basically “soft†and easy to bend and re-bend. If they are not lining up exactly, they are easy to reposition and line up. Either way, it is always easier to plan for hinges early on in the build.

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:angry: OK guys. Going to give up on the "workable" hinged hoods on these cars. They are going to be in a used car lot diorama so I'm just going to spot epoxy them open with the appropriate supports. But... thanks for all of the great ideas for future builds. :rolleyes:
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  • 8 months later...

Some of you have seen this before but the question keeps coming up with regularity on the forum and since the older magazines are becoming harder to find... I thought I would post it here for all to see.

Hood, trunk and door hinges are one of the first modifications modelers should consider when building a contest winning car. Of course, some kits already come molded with opening doors and working hinges. But they are usually limited to the use of weak styrene plastic which cannot hold up to continuous use, not to mention weak enough to break unless non scale thicknesses are used during the molding process.

With this post I have demonstrated a basic hinge I first used in 1984 and have incorporated in many of my models since.

nonsprung-vi.jpg

This first hinge is bent from a single piece of .048 or .039 steel wire. (thicker .055 is harder to bend and smaller, .032... tooo springy and will allow the door/hood/trunk to bounce)

The wire is bent as shown and held in place with blocks of .063 thick styrene that has had a slot carved into it for wire clearance. All four blocks are the same basic size and all four are glued in place at the same time. Not to worry about glue getting on the wire because once you pop open the hood the bond between the wire breaks with the torsional action thus providing a pivot and secure alignment for consistent closing each and every time!

This hinge is used when a prop rod is used to hold the hood in the open position. Or magnets and/or additional springs can be incorporated later depending on application.

hoodhinges-vi.jpg

This second hinge is a "torsional two piece" hinge. It is bent with mirror pieces of .039 steel wire with one end matching the hinge in the first illustration and the other end bent in a simple "L" shape. Trunk hinges on many cars come like this in the 1:1.

The simple use of the "L" bend provides a little tension built into the hinge that will POP open the hood and keep it open... unfortunately a latch will be required to hold it closed with this design. Magnets are a simple solution... a more elegant and complicated design I will post at another time.

When installing this hinge, like the first one... one should tape in place the hood or trunk lid. Then the wire pieces are laid in place and the hinge blocks glued in place along with the hood hold down blocks. Clothes pins are used here to make sure of a secure bond... and good drying time required, about 8 hours, before proceeding.

The next step is to push down the springy "L" bend and glue in the anchor blocks somewhere over the fender area of the body. This too is held in place with clothes pins and left to dry.

Later, the tape can be removed and the hood popped open!

If you did it right... the hood should stay open and at a realistic height. Unfortunately it is not possible to make the spring stronger once installed but you can put limits on the spring if it pushes the hood or trunk open beyond the normal lift. Therefore is important to put the "L" bend at least 90 degrees off from the hood bend. Hope that makes sense.

At any rate, trial and error are usually the best way to accomplish this as is the way in most modeling. If the hood is heavy then thicker wire or a greater degrees between the "L" bend and the hood might be needed. If the hood is lighter... maybe one spring is all that will be needed. Like I said, trial and error is the only way to be sure.

Good luck!

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Interesting setup, Jairus. Myself, I use ID/OD brass tube and wire (the wire is .032"). I find it easier to toss a piece of tubing in my miter box and cutting three pieces- a long one for my hood application and the other two usually 3/16 (.1875") long for my attachment points. But yours looks good also.

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  • 3 months later...

This is for the exterior pinned doors only: I generally take a piece of 1-16th inch I.D Brass tubing and cut it into alittle less than 1-8th inch pieces. Then, I place two pieces of very fine brass wire inside the tube about maybe an inch long. Then take you're two pieces of wire and bend them in OPPOSITE directions. With a pair of needl nose pliers, , put an"L" in the two pieces at each corner. If you have done this correctly, it will resemble an insects legs. Then take 5 minute epoxy and CAREFULLY glue one side of the hinge to either the door or the body. AFTER the glue has cured, THEN do the same for the oposing part.

Anyone not understanding this , please write me at my shop/office 5343 White Pickett La. Richmond Va. 23237 Yes Ill send you DRAWINGS for this procedure!

Ed Shaver

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Model Car Garage has a PE set of hinges that are just sweet to work with the only problem is they are all one size a original looking 32 ford has a longer hinge on the bottom Jairus illustrated and Greg had the Article in MCM that showed how to scratchbuild some out of brass strip & wire they were not extremely hard to do but I am sure it could take a few tries before you get them to line up right

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