Sierra back door hinges

[Adrian Southgate]

I would like to know what all my fellow Sierra owners use as back door / tailgate hinges.

Mine is currently a side opening door but the hinges and mountings are quite weak which allows the door to drop as it opens. I was thinking of changing to top hinges but want to fit something like a mini boot hinge or imp bonnet hinge. The drawbacks are imp hinges are £40 a pair now which is silly and mini boot hinges are an angled seat which would put stress on the fitting and surrounding body when it was opened.

I looked at concealed boot hinges like the capri tailgate units but they would need structural mods to both body and doors so ruled them out. Has to be a simple hinge and fitted externally, Discuss.

[Steve Kerswell]

I actually will admit to bodging this :-)) Mine fell off and the door is fairly heavy, so to save time I used the hinges that were already on it, looks like standard building door hinges, inserted a stout piece of timber behind both vertical surfaces and used a very good quality wood screw and sticks like s*it adhesive to sandwich and squeeze it all together. Then forgot about it until your post, so 18 months later its still there, must have been a good bodge :-))

[Steve Kerswell]

Just risked the wife's wrath and popped out and had a gander. I shaped a bit of 4x2 to fit inside the moulding and the hinges look like 3" steel butt hinges. Pictures tomorrow when she returns to work and leaves me in peace, bless her :-))

[Steve Kerswell]

the metal plates on mine were pulling through the glass work, hence the wood work, top to bottom and shaped it in, spreading the load as much as possible. Bloody door is heavy :-}. But it may not be there much longer, chain saw or petrol disc cutter on standby ! A new Sierra model will be born, to much time laying around thinking up the future, hope to start implementing dreams soon.

[Adrian Southgate]

My hinges appear to be soft stainless and are twisting as the body takes the weight. Already fitted 3mm Ally plate inside the door and the frame.

Been and looked again and am measuring up for a split gate. Top opens upward, bottom drops down. Got substantial bottom hinges already but its the top part that will need something different. I'll work summat out and take some pictures.

[Adrian Southgate]

Since this was taken I have rebuilt the inner seal carrier around the top half of the door which had been hacked off to get the single piece door in the hole. It used to have a split gate.

The bottom of the door scrapes along the ally strip at the moment but there is room for it so move up by 3/4 of an inch. 

Bumper misses by miles but the ally strip catches all the way apart from the last 20 degrees.

I am planning to split it 1 inch below the window on the inside and 2 inches below on the outside so I have an overlap 'gap' to fit some sort of catch in.

[Adrian Southgate]

Bottom hinges are sorted, bloody great things off the seat that used to sit in the back, standard escort estate seat units. Drop down part is getting a steel box frame with a chequer plate skin on the inside so it can be used as a standing area. Bolted direct to the chassis under the back of the door shut. Outer skin will be the dutton fibreglass but with a series 3 style recess for a square numberplate.

[Nick carlin]

:/

[Adrian Southgate]

Those look like Ally castings Nick.