1964 Imperial door won't stay open

[Robin Bird]

Hi everyone,
I'm the new owner of a 1964 Imperial and the front driver side door has a broken part so the door won't stay open like it should. The passenger side is good and it looks like there is a plate broken and spring missing on the driver side. I don't know what to call this part to search for it properly to see if I can find one. Are these parts even available or do I have to find one in a salvage yard somewhere?

Robin

 

[Grits]

Robin,
They are called door hinge. Sumit Racing has door hinges. Fast Free Standard Shipping on Orders Over $99 at Summit Racing
Do not know if they carry what you need.
Phillip

 

[Davea Lux]

The part that keeps the door open is commonly known as a hinge locking cam or "door keeper", your best bet is probably a used hinge that can either be used for parts to fix yours or installed in place of yours. The hinge pins are available, but I do not know of anybody making replacement cams or springs. The locking cam has a notch cut in it and a roller follows the cam. Tension is supplied by the spring. Usually either the roller fell off, the pin holding the cam broke or the spring broke. This was a common failure on the Chryslers and Imperials of that era.

Dave

 

[garyh]

Ebay has this kit,
eBay item number:
202010124232
"1960 - 1966 Chrysler Imperial Hinge Door Stop Repair Kit - Repro Keeper Check"

Roller rivet kit if needed : 201409647174
I got the kits, all my front doors stay opened Now !

 

[garyh]

I want to add buying the kits is the easy part.
Installing them is another story. But it can be done w/o the removing hinges. I did both doors on my '66 Coupe and '66 Conv. Well worth the effort !

 

[Davea Lux]

I want to add buying the kits is the easy part.
Installing them is another story. But it can be done w/o the removing hinges. I did both doors on my '66 Coupe and '66 Conv. Well worth the effort !

Agreed. If this car has good paint, probably best to remove the front fender as there is very little room for error to avoid chipping a nice paint job. Door can also be removed to attack the hinges. Either way it is a major PIA. Other thing to consider is that the hinge bolts if they are rusted will sometimes break off for an even bigger PIA.

Dave

 

[CBODY67]

The OTHER thing to consider is a stable and sturdy way to support the door assy! It's much heavier than it feels like when it's attached to "hinges". Think floor jack and "lumber". There is a specialized wheeled support for doors that many larger body shops might have, which can make things easier, but I'm not aware that anybody rents them.

You might also consider putting a few layers of heavy masking tape on the front edge of the door and rear edge of the fender.

My suspicion is that the springs are fairly generic in automotive door hinges. Might also cross with the similar ones on the rear doors? BUT the spring is worthless without the roller the cam rides against.

CBODY67

 

[Robin Bird]

Thanks guys. You've been very helpful. The good one on the passenger side looks just like the one on ebay that garyh shared. I will order one soon. Can't wait to not have to hold that big door open when getting in or out.

 

[moper]

I got lucky. The end of the bolt sheared off, but the spring and cam were there. I literally dropped a bolt in it's place for now.