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Can / should OE door hinge tabs be used for tie in to firewall

RWKHausSupply

NAXJA Forum User
Well now just trying get a sturdy yet simple design for the cage work and with the doors gone the firewall side of the hinges are left and without thought was going to use them for tieing in the A pillar and front exo portion to the front bumper. Then while stareing in a blank at them I thought umm are they even all that strong? Out at the last unoffical JV event I did see a few that tied to them, but how strong are they really?

Anyone that has used the them for cage tie in, and had significant weight on that area of the tube/cage, can you chime in and let me know if theres any deformation of the hinge mounting area.

Thanks

PS also any and all pictures of this area if you did use them would be Awesome!
 
I have found that about 1 in 15 4dr XJs I get in the shop(used car sales that likes xj/mj/zjs) has a tore off upper hinge, most are 91-95. With that said I'm going to use them as tie-ins for my MJ-truggy thing just as you are wanting. I would say look at the welds, if they are cracked, pull them off, weld thicker plate back in(how I fix them) and weld the tabs back on or better yet if no doors are being ran run a better looking tab to tie in your down bars.


andy
 
yeah well they dont look all that strong. I looked at it last night and thinking that I sould do some 2x2.5" angle along the weather stripping seam area over around to the hinges and weld all that together and give myself a much more stout attachment to the firewall.
 
i used the b pillar mounts to tie in to my exo. the roll over was to the nose then driver side then to the roof. the hinge area was in good shape.
 
every time i go to pick and pull one of the five or so xjs they have has the upper hinge torn off. doesent seem that strong to me, but it may be the strongest section in that area. hope this helps
 
well not to convinced that the door hinges would hold as well as I would like, I did some work to help I hope. I did whack the stock hinge with a 3lbs hammer and it did move and the gap opened up slightly at the rear of the hinge then back the other way.

So I fully welded them to the metal under them, then turned down the heat and weled every seam around them as well as then added a 16" piece of 1.5x1.5 angle. I welded the angle to the hinges and the firewall. Once done I I didnt just whack, but pounded it Hard with the 3lb hammer again and it didnt budge.

Now I also have a nice cradle to put the 1.75" tube in to and get alot more weld area to the firewall.

Heres a before the angle and after.

DSC01588.jpg

DSC01587.jpg
 
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