Tri5 door hinges modified for wires

[WagonCrazy]

Hey all. Just wanted to shout out that Woodys Hot Rods is selling a pair of these for $284 + tax and shipping. Sale price apparently.
Anyone else make these for anything less?

https://www.woodyshotrodz.com/Woody-s-Hot-Rodz-WHR-44643-p/whr-44643.htm

[NickP]

Interesting, thanks.

[MP&C]

I would caution that the distance of the exit point under the dash from the pivot pin MAY cause excessive movement of the harness for "possible" premature failure. Danchuk had a similar hinge with a similar exit point that didn't last long in their catalog. I can't say for sure that they had returns, but the hinges did disappear mysteriously while interest in the part seemed to continue.


This hinge was made locally.. Note wire exit closer to pivot for less movement:


Picture 5510.jpg



Hinge open:


Picture 5517.jpg


Hinge closed:


Picture 5518.jpg


minimal movement..

[NickP]

Good info!

[chevynut]

I made a pair of these for my Nomad.....

20090221_1197.JPG

I have about 50 hinges that I bought and was going to make a bunch of these but haven't had the time. At that price maybe I should resurrect the project.

[Florida 57]

There`s a guy on that other site that machines them similar to Woody`s for less money and they appear to function well.You do however have to ship your set(s) to him.

[chevynut]

A couple of things I see wrong with the Woody's hinges......


First, they cut away the entire side of the hinge, removing 30-40% of it. That has to make it weaker and more flexible because the cover doesn't add any strength back. I cut mine out leaving a lot of metal on both sides of the hole to keep them stiff and strong.

Then they put what looks like an ALUMINUM cover on them. IMO they're going to get chewed up by the door hinge springs in no time if the spring goes over them. Maybe they left enough metal near the pin so it doesn't, but that brings up the next problem....

As Robert mentioned it's important to get the wires as close to the hinge pin as possible, to minimize flexing of the wires. Their design leaves a lot to be desired in that regard. The wires have to go under the spring and out of the hinge pocket. Also the exit on the other end isn't inside the door enough. You can see the last bolt when the door is open, so imo you'll be able to see the wire bundle where it exits the hinge. It may not be a big deal to some guys, but I wouldn't want to see the wires.

The upside is that it looks like the wires would be easy to get into the hinge.

I was able to get 10 wires through my hinges today and there's probably room for more.
20180314_001 (1).JPG

[Florida 57]

Since I only needed two wires entering my door for small lights, I drilled just enough to accomplish.

[WagonCrazy]

I finally have purchased the Auto City Classic power window kit for my Nomad. Both the door windows and vent windows with power regulators. They came with stock door wire conduits that look like this...
stock door wire conduit.jpeg

But I'm not sure I like that huge hole I have to make in the jamb...
door jamb.jpeg

The only 2 alternatives seem to be aftermarket conduits like this...
Aftermarket door conduit.jpg

Or the custom milled slot in the stock hinges...
custom milled hinge.jpeg

At this point, since I have brand new stock conduits to use, (and I really don't want to spend another $300+ for the custom hinges), I'm considering doing the jamb drilling and installing the stock conduits.

Such a big open hole though. Anyone put any rubber in behind the jamb to block some of that off?

[Belair-o]

Hi WagonCrazy,
I didn't put rubber behind the jamb, just have the bare hole. I never thought about it, just figured it was necessary to provide clearance as the conduit moves thru the hole. When everything is all cleaned up and painted, and also in a place that isn't that open to viewing, I thought it looked fine (until you wrote that, and now I will probably look at it).
Regards, Doug

[BamaNomad]

That hole isn't really noticeable or a problem except when the door is fully opened and someone is *inspecting* the jamb area... I wouldn't worry about it...