What places do you recommend on buying new door hinges and hardware? My doors sag pretty bad when you open and shut them, to the point that the paint in the door jams is all scratched up. I want to install new hinges before I have the car repainted.

 

Your better off replacing the bushings with the kit TDS sells.If you ever want the doors to close properly again, dont remove the hinges.Just buy the Andys kit.

 

Is it scratching the paint on the bottom of the car, in front of the door sills?

If so, mine was doing that - during my body work/paint job, my painter realigned my doors so that they opened and shut 100% better, but the day the car came out of paint, I noticed the door was still rubbing there. If you get on the ground, and look up at the open door, you'll see there are plastic pieces that don't really connect anywhere, that are part of the door ground effects. I'm guessing that over time, these ag as anything does. I couldn't see any reason for them, since all they seemed to do (anymore) was scratch the door sill paint. So I took a hacksaw and cut them out. No more scratching the door sills now.

What I'm talking about leaves a scratch about 1 1/2 inches wide, and about 3 per door in the center of the door sill. I know folks don't like hacking their cars - I don't either. But, it solved the issue, and after a year there's been no bad effect of doing so. It's just that (on mine), those plastic pieces from the door ground effect just weren't doing whatever they used to do, since they were no longer tucked up in there like they originally were.

Anyway - something to look at/consider.

 

Another thought I'll throw out there...

For weeks my doors have been opening/closing poorly - the detent roller is worn out for the most part and needs replaced. I tried all sorts of things to help like white lithium, bearing grease, etc to help ease the opening/closing until I can get new detent rollers. Nothing worked longer than a day or two - it just seemed to wear off.

I ride motorcycle - a chain drive. So I got the idea to try Chain Wax - it's a spray can, but the grease kinda dries into more of a wax (so that it doesn't sling off a motorcycle chain while riding). Anyway - it's been over a week now, and it's doing a great job still! Can't even tell my rollers are shot anymore. It's available at any motorcycle shop about $7 a can.

 

You can get the same kind of stuff at a bicycle shop. The product is a wax lubricant under the White Lightning line. Goes on in liquid form and dries to a waxy consistency in a few minutes.

 

Top Down
solutions sells a kit to fix sagging doors at about $75-80. I fixed my 89 Firebird with brass bushings I got from my local Tractor Supply (TSC). Cost about $13. Can supply details if you would like

 

For me it's not the hinge pins and bushings, it's the detent roller, which is a royal PITA to fix - so if anyone ever comes up with a replacement hinge assembly, I'd love to know - after having Lon at TDS explain to me how to redo detent rollers, I thing replacement sounds ALOT easier.

Wonder if 4th gen hinges would work? There's always a decent 4th gen in the boneyards.

 

I believe the guys at TDS know what they're talking about. As far as a 4th gen, I don't know. Good luck

 

I replaced a detent roller and pin yesterday on a fourth gen. Not that hard if you have a door spring compressor and an air chisel. Easier than replacing the hinge. I didn't have to take the door loose at all.

 

I did new detent rollers. i had fabricated a tool to pull the old ones.... with out it theirs no way of getting the pins out easy there just a pain in the *** but with the tool i had made it make short work took about a few min tops to pull the pins... also got new lower pins and bushings also new door striker bolts. the upper ones didn't have any play otherwise i was going to order the greasable hinge repair kit, its a bit spendy so im glade i didn't have to. theirs also a article CHPM did on saggy doors http://www.chevyhiperformance.com/te...aro/index.html

 

The hinges are high IIRC hawks sells them,some are discontinued some are one side only. I was going to to the same thing you where they told me over $600.

I was going to do the TDS pin kit but found these and though I would try them had them on for around 2 yrs and no sagging yet.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-8...Q5fAccessories

 

Gonna have to get these for my driver door before i put the moldings or skirts back on

 

http://www.paddockparts.com/paddock/...l/homepage.asp they got hinges AND pin with bushing. Autozone gots pin and bushing, however, i never was able to acheive perfect fitting (chinese part). I got saggy doors and its cool, sound like a gun shot when i slam my door. At night Its gotton bad to the point where i have to drive a half mile away from neighbors just to shut it, BaM. I recommend everybody order a catalog. THEY SAY 5 dollars, BUT they are free. TM

 

Well I guess I'll share my story. It might help someone lol
So my door on my Camaro sagged like no other.. it dropped about 3 inches down when you lifted it off the skirt, which would get ripped off about every time. (the door overlaps the back panel so it can never fully shut, but that's a whole different story)
So a few days ago, I got a new door (used), got the new pin and bushing from O'Reillys or Autozone which every car parts you might go has them usually. Put them on the door, put the door on tightened the bolts and swung the door. Same thing door was about an inch below the where it should be and I'd have to pick the door up and scoot it in to latch. Well for one the make sure your bushing don't fit in the door hinge easily. You really need to have some that fit tight in the in the hinge or it's going to be an epic fail every time.
So today I took off the "new" door, thought about buying a new hinge to see if a 3rd hinge would do the trick or something I've been told over and over and over by mechanics, body shops, parts shops. Hinges are $150 for the lower.
Well both hinges looked fine, they just had about 1/8" of room after the bushing were in them that left them lose, which would make the door sag.
Short and simple easy fix to it. Take a washer just big enough to go around the hinge pin and stick it in between the door hinge and the actual hinge you can take off, just on top of the top bushing. You'll want it to fit tight so the hinge can't move up or down and then stick the pin in there. Then you still might have to adjust and play around with the bolts to the car but other than that, a simple washer to take up that little bit of room fixed my door from sagging. Didn't have to get a new hinge like I was told, paid $5 for the pin and bushings. Just use washer to take up that extra room and your door shouldn't sag.

Not sure if this will work for everyone but it certainly helped my problem instead of spending $150.

 

If anyone wants a picture to see exactly what I'm talking about just give me a heads up.