Hey everyone. I was wondering if anyone knows how the hinges are mounted to the doors. The hinges on my doors are rusted so bad they wont move. I would like to replace them and was hoping someone could shed some light on this. I figure I could grind the fiberglass off, but before I dove into that I was wondering what I'm getting myself into. I am thinking they may be welded to a frame inside the fiberglass. Anyway, I hope someone can help me out. Thanks and hope everyone has a great Christmas.
Cimbria door hinges
- Thread starter ken
- Start date
Bob the builder
New member
Ken, My Gen 1 Cimbria had the same issue, the fiberglass had delaminated away from the metal plate inside the top of the door. This is what I did and now is fixed 100%. You should remove the door by removing the bolts holding the door to the body, don't worry if they snap off due to rust you will replace them with new anyway, With the door off soak the hinge with penetrating oil until you can work the hinge then if you have to re weld any segments of the hinge to make good. If your fiberglass has delaminated and looks like a slab of chasse in a sandwich, then drill trough the fiberglass and use countersunk 6mm bolts to clamp together, I also poured fiberglass resin into the gap. When all set up bondo/sand and re paint. bolt door back in place using flat head bolts with the nuts pointing up.
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That sounds good. I will give that a try. Thanks for the advise. Looking at your door helps understand how it is put together. The hinge has a big plate that goes into the door. I am assuming it is welded to a frame inside the door.? (ya know what it means to assume something) 
But thanks again for the help.
But thanks again for the help.Brett Proctor
Well-known member
Another option is to soak the hinge in "CLR". It will dissolve the rust, then clean all of it off with water (its acidic) and then add penetrating oil.
Polyester Resin alone is not that strong and probably crack in time, but adding milled or chopped glass to it will add strength and fills in voids better..
There are also body panel adhesives that work well. I've used 3M 08115 with good results, but its not cheap and requires a dispenser gun. This I used for bonding cured fiberglass to other materials.
Peter
Active member
Bonding old fiber glass panels with resin doesn't work as it will not soak into the old stuff, not even after a soak in acetone.
Use a bonding agent such as Sikaflex, The fiber glass will break before the glue.
Check your mounting panel in the doors roof for rust, if it is at all rusty delaminate the door roof and rip it out and replace with stainless steel version.
Use a bonding agent such as Sikaflex, The fiber glass will break before the glue.
Check your mounting panel in the doors roof for rust, if it is at all rusty delaminate the door roof and rip it out and replace with stainless steel version.