May - MogNW

Cuthbert’s Epistles to the Mognoscenti: Door Pillar Reinforcement
Morgan Oasis Garage
Hoodsport, Washington
Cuthbert J. Twillie, Proprietor
Friends,
Years ago Jim Dietz asked the lovely
Flowerbelle to make a tonneau cover and a
boot for his four place Morgan. I drove the
car over here to the shop so she could have
it on hand for the work. While the upholstery
was being done there were a few things that
needed doing and I did them. One thing I
didn't do was repair the door hinge fastenings.
Jim hadn't said anything, but they were
as sloppy as any I've seen. Of course Jim
was aware of that situation, and when the car
was returned he asked if the hinges could be
seen to.
Ken McClinton was the source of a great
deal of knowledge he'd picked up in his decades
of Mogging. Bob Hauge can figure
problems out on the phone, and he is one of
the best, if not the best Wrench in the club.
Bob has decades of Morganeering also.
These are the guys I go to for solutions to a
Morgan's nagging problems.
The permanent solution to sagging doors
is to place a steel bar on the front side of the
hinge pillar. This piece is tapped for No.8 X
32 stainless steel machine screws. I'm not
here to scold the factory. A hundred years
and still building the most fun on wheels is
good enough for me. But the door hinges
should be fastened by more than wood
screws. You cannot expect woodscrews to
last as long as we're asking our Mogs to go
down the road. It's the wood screws that give
us that dreadful door sag.
The steel bar is 1/4" X 1" X 7” and it is
fastened to the hinge pillar with two 8x32
machine screws between the two hinges. In
fact it's very much like the drawing that accompanies
this article. Drilling and tapping
twenty-four holes isn't the most fascinating
task, however the goal of proper hanging
doors is worth the effort.
After the two holes are made between the
hinges, the steel bar is clamped in place so
the bar can be marked for drilling. You need
to be slow and methodical here as the hinges
must go back in the same exact places they
used to be. When the bar has been securely
fastened, it can then be marked through the
hinges screw holes. These holes have, of
NW-Mogazine Volume 33, Number 3 May & June 2013
18
course, been drilled through the hinge pillar.
Now the steel bar is drilled and tapped to
8x32. In this fashion the hinges are held in
the steel bar. The hinge pillar is sandwiched
between the hinges and the bar. A much
stronger hold that won’t sag when the door is
used. This will also allow the doors to be
removed without disturbing the cockpit paneling.
If you're doors are sagging a bit, dive right
in, and look around at your next club meeting.
If those guys can do it your Granny can.
Copies of “A Yank at
Malvern” with over 250
pages of Cuthbert’s
articles are available
from David Crandall,
503-894-8669