[Chrysler300] heads up! 300 door hinges

While restoring a 300F, came upon what follows. Location: The sheet metal part of the main unit body at A post , the angled “back” extension of firewall sort of, in between the inner and outer driver side fender, forward of where upper front door hinge bolts to; this is under the edge, of end of air intake box, near where e brake bolts on. At /under seam where front fender goes on. To outside of car from where hood hinge is .

After removing nose, just part of restoring, we saw a big ball of body putty , in this space, apparently intact and hard , ?? wondered why (?) above hinge location on forward wall of that box that is the structural A pillar for the door , and windshield window frame . Normally , you cannot see this place. (antenna wire runs near here on passenger side) Did not pursue further, I thought factory rattle damping or just excess application of it. . But last week went to take off door, the loose bolt plate that slides around in there to position the hinge almost fell to bottom of pillar !! Nothing holding it !!!

So at one point in past, someone pulled the bolts on the upper hinge, the bolt plate fell out! (or better, into pillar ) Imagine a fresh paint job, all perfect, and this happens ; you have to pull whole left side of nose , but still cannot get at that plate, so they had to cut a big hole in the area of that seal ball, over hinge and ?? hook plate w magnet ?? and pull it back up. Looking at it, no way to get inside that pillar . Or get a hook or magnet in without cutting a big hole. . Talk about a bad day!!! J-Y tells me that there is a sheet metal shelf or retainer in there to keep it from falling out, but this is either broken off or was bent somehow , on this car, or by pressing in on plate? I have never seen inside that box that holds hinge . Will never know. Or if this is common.

So if removing hinge bolts be super aware of this , put hook of weld rod or something in an empty hole free and clear of hinge itself before pulling last bolt , looks like it would drop right down to the rocker box . Glad that was not me long ago . Increased the consumption of Jack for a week, long ago…..…

Might apply to many of our cars….

John