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Tue Nov 11, 2003 2:53 pm

Im trying to pull the doors off my 69 Type 3 Squarback project car,

Ive seen a couple ways to get the doors off,
1 Knock the bar in the hinge out (I've tried but have been unsuccsesful)
or
2 take the hinges off with the door. The problem with this is the door hinges are screwed on with some kind of phillips head screw that I fear will strip if I try much harder to turn them,

What is the best and easiest way to get the doors off (so that i will be able to put them back on later, keep in mind :D)?

-Matt Buechler

Tue Nov 11, 2003 4:47 pm

use pb blaster on the screws and get a big phillips with a place to put a wrench on the shaft on the screw driver. that way you can keep pressure on the screw driver while turning with the wrench. let the pb blaster sit on the screws for a day or so. if it starts to strip the screws you may have to an impact screwdriver.

Tue Nov 11, 2003 5:39 pm

Like above said, penetrating oil and an impact driver. If this doesn't work, its on to more drastic methods, such as heat. And lastly drilling the screws out with a slightly smaller bit, and then chasing the threads with an 8mm X 1.25 tap. This method works too, but then you need to find new screws (they're out there, just have to ask). I hope this helps.

Wed Nov 12, 2003 8:38 am

Drilling the screws out is not fun...I just did this on a '60 Beetle. I found a similar 8mm x 1.25mm phillips screw at the local home improvement store and they worked just fine. Just make sure to center the drill bit and drill straight. The screw head will pop off and then clean the threads up with a tap and some cutting oil or WD40 etc.

Wed Nov 12, 2003 11:12 am

Try an impact screw driver, you can by these at a hardware store fairly inexpensive. You only need to "crack" the screw loose then it will more than likely come out by hand. 8)

Wed Nov 12, 2003 2:32 pm

ditto on the pb blaster AND the impact driver. good luck.