1992 Olds 98 door replace

by crice63 Tue Jan 07, 2020 12:09 am

Ok, here’s one for somebody with body experience. A family friend avoided rear-ending someone but side-swiped the car, damage to driver fender and door. It’s a 1992 Olds 98 with only 25,000 miles so it’s in really good shape—or was. The door was pushed back but there was no obvious damage to the hinges or pillars. I told her I’d never installed a door but could at least bolt it up, but even a small amount of damage on the post or under the hinges would be beyond my abilities.
A fresh 91 appeared in the JY so I went and got the door and fender. Fender went on fine. Got the door bolted up and it’s not close. It’s off nearly 2 inches low and half an inch too long at the back. So I go to unbolt it for adjusting and the top forward pillar stud just disappears into the frame. Gone. It hits down at the frame bottom somewhere.
So what is usually done in this situation? Tap the existing hole and use a bolt? Can I recover the stud from the frame somehow ( no obvious access holes underneath). If it helps, it seems to be the pivot bolt, not the one that has room to move around. Any suggestions welcome.