2nd Gen Door hinges

[Doug1]

What's the consensus on 2nd gen hinges as far as buying reproductions or buying Ring Brothers? Are their any other options out there? I rebuild mine from 4 sets and picked the best of each. My door still drops a little after opening it and I've adjusted them more than I care to admit.

The problem with adjusting them is that the door will inevitably sag after you align the door and tighten them down. So it ends up being a guessing game as to how high you have to adjust them to account for the sag. I'd like to have something that opens and shuts like a modern car door. Will it take the Ring Brothers hinges to do that?

[cdoggy81]

Good question as I wondered the same.

[CampbellshotrodsAZ]

Good question as I wondered the same.

I guess now I'm curious too, lol. For $625 for 4 hinges, I guess it's not a terrible deal considering it does both doors. If it gets rid of the awful feel/sound that all these cars seem to have while shutting the doors, seems like it might be worth the money.

[badazz81z28]

I guess now I'm curious too, lol. For $625 for 4 hinges, I guess it's not a terrible deal considering it does both doors. If it gets rid of the awful feel/sound that all these cars seem to have while shutting the doors, seems like it might be worth the money.


I would stick with OEM. It seems to me the RB and other are not meant for daily use. They are more show pieces for display cars that are not driven. $700 RB hood hinges that worked about the first 10 times of opening and closing the hood Until "snap". I'm sure if the doors are carbon fiber or similar they would likely hold up well.

[Doug1]

I would stick with OEM. It seems to me the RB and other are not meant for daily use. They are more show pieces for display cars that are not driven. $700 RB hood hinges that worked about the first 10 times of opening and closing the hood Until "snap". I'm sure if the doors are carbon fiber or similar they would likely hold up well.

So you had RB hood hinges snap? I'm using those now but they seem very solid. I'm using a metal hood with them. The point of the RB hinges was that they would never sag and were supposed to be far more heavy duty than the factory hinges. I'm looking to go up in performance for long term use. It would be helpful to know who is using them and how they have held up.

[DH80Z-28]

Call David Kountz at Metal Brothers. I spoke with him at cruising the coast. While checking out his car he let me open the door to look in & I immediately noticed the door felt different. He showed me the hinges were from Ring Brothers. Door felt really solid.

[jlcustomz]

As far as making 2 hinges from 4, unless you got new pins & bushings, possibly properly redrilling for oversize bushings, then you will have slop.

As far as adjustments especially if you have slop, you need to raise them up enough to not have the door drop back down when latched with the latch at the proper height & depth.

Door adjustment might not be rocket science, but without a proper knowledge of how to adjust & the cause /effect relationship of what your movements in adjustments do, it will be frustrating & you'll waste a lot of time getting nowhere.

I don't work on cars as a day job, but been in the residential/commercial door business for over 29 years. Many times when customers call in a complaint on door locking & latching, I stand back & look at how it sits on the hinges first & many times correct a latching/locking problem with hinge adjustment, rather new or old & sloppy. Many times in just a very few minutes. Understanding adjustment is that important.

[Doug1]

As far as making 2 hinges from 4, unless you got new pins & bushings, possibly properly redrilling for oversize bushings, then you will have slop.

As far as adjustments especially if you have slop, you need to raise them up enough to not have the door drop back down when latched with the latch at the proper height & depth.

Door adjustment might not be rocket science, but without a proper knowledge of how to adjust & the cause /effect relationship of what your movements in adjustments do, it will be frustrating & you'll waste a lot of time getting nowhere.

I don't work on cars as a day job, but been in the residential/commercial door business for over 29 years. Many times when customers call in a complaint on door locking & latching, I stand back & look at how it sits on the hinges first & many times correct a latching/locking problem with hinge adjustment, rather new or old & sloppy. Many times in just a very few minutes. Understanding adjustment is that important.

I have a good bit of experience with these cars, having built a number of them. The point of having the additional hinges was I picked the absolute best of the bunch and then rebuilt THOSE to make sure they were in the best shape possible. I don't like having to adjust for the slop in the factory hinges because they just droop over time. I'd like to the hinges to hold up over the long haul with no vertical movement more like a modern hinge. These door weigh so much that it takes a stout piece of hardware to make that happen and those Ring Brother's hinges appear to be made with enough strength to hold up over time. Before I buy them, I want to make sure they're worth the 3x price of new factory reproductions.

[jlcustomz]

Got ya. It's a little hit & miss sometimes trying to tell someone you don't know something they don't know. I kinda first thought you were just putting things together & having a door drop when opening when I guess you meant it was a reoccurring issue. I've rebuilt the ds door on my el camino twice in the last 24 years, so I know what you mean on the heavy old 2 door gm stuff. The factory hinges don't have much area where the o.d. of the bushings rest against. If mine wear enough to sag a 3rd time I may just chop up some 4 1/2" commercial stainless ball bearing hinges & incorporate some of the barrel & pin section into mine or weld in sections of steel bushing for a better bushing /roller bearing setup. Got a grinder with cutting disc & welder? Since you got spares maybe you could redesign a set.

From looking at the RB hinges pics, the thicker , but softer aluminum hinges look to be much bulkier at the pivot area. I see they state having a spring detent ball with 3 locations which would definitely feel different. That design of detent definitely would feel a little less precise if it ever saw years of daily use, though it could still function as long as the factory design.

[g-machine]

I'm buying RB - study the construction of their hinge. Thick billet aluminum will not break under the weight of these doors. Bearing surfaces seem to be case hardened steel, bronze or brass, etc.

I think they are worth the money.

[Benttube]

Been awhile since anyone replied to this. I am about ready to order a set of the RB door hinges, just curious if anyone that has them can provide feedback on how they are performing/holding up.

Thanks in advance

[badazz81z28]

Been awhile since anyone replied to this. I am about ready to order a set of the RB door hinges, just curious if anyone that has them can provide feedback on how they are performing/holding up.

Thanks in advance

$775! Good show pieces for sure, if you got the money. I honestly didn't like their aluminum hood hinges. Broke two pair.