Inline Tube - 68-72 GM A-body Door Hinge Repair Kit
68-72 GM A-body Chevelle, GTO, 442, GS door hinge rebuild kit - instructions
Chances are, your 68-72 GM A-body Chevelle, GTO, Skylark or 442 driver side door
has been opened and closed over 100,000 times and that little wheel and bushings
the hinge ride against are worn out or gone. These hinges typically got plastic
bushings that the door hinge pins ran through and over the years the plastic
became crushed, worn and brittle. This deterioration caused the door to sag and
not align properly. It also caused the door to not stay in the 2 open positions
closing and getting you in the shin a few times. The worse the hinge got, the
only hardware left to align the door was the door striker that was taking a
beating every time it is hit. Most of the strikers have a flat spot where the
sagged door latch hit it a couple of thousand times. While the metal hinge and
the pins are good the bushings are gone causing the problem. With a small amount
of effort these bushings and pins can be replaced and you will have doors that
close tight like they were new again.
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We first start by bead basting the
hinge down to bare metal so we can work on a clean part. Next we get out the die
grinder with a wire fiber wheel and grind off the pressed areas that hold the
pins in place. With a hammer the pins can be tapped out of the metal stamping.
By holding the hinge at the spring
with it compressed it will take all tension off the roller wheel and allow the
pin to drop out. If the hinge had plastic bushings they will fall right out.
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If the hinge had brass bushings they
are usually warn and mashed against the stamping and require a punch to get them
out.
Comparing the new to the old you can
see the parts are exact but the big difference is the plastic roller bushing has
been replaced with a steel bushing that will never let you door down again.
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We have the inline tube hinge kit
here that comes with all the bushings, pins and the rollers. The new bushings
are CNC made of steel that has a small amount of lead as part of the alloy. The
lead provides a slick rolling surface and makes the steel soft like the original
brass. The roller is heat treated so it will be hardened and take the abuse of
the hinge stamping ridding on the roller. Now that we have the hinge apart we
take it back to the blast cabinet and clean the areas around the pins and
bushings. The new inline tube pins and bushings will be installed just as they
came out.
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The new pins and bushings are a
snug fit and will need to be tapped into place. For the roller pin make sure the
vise has the spring compressed just as in the disassembly. This will allow the
hinge to clear the roller wheel.
Any pin that had the metal edge
penned over on the end will have to be tack welded, and the large pin with the
roller wheel now has a small screw to hold it in place so no welding is
necessary.
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The hinges are now all assembled and
taken again back to the bead blaster to clean any deposits off from the welding
step. Since the hinges will be getting primed next it is a good idea to bead
blast the entire hinge to clean anything that will not allow the paint and
primer to stick. With the finished set you can feel how tight they have become
and imagine how nice the door will align and shut.
Sources:
Inlinetube - Brake & Fuel Lines,
Parking Brake Cables, Hoses, Valves, Brake & Fuel Clips, Disc Brakes
15066 Technology Drive
Shelby Twp, MI 48315
586 532 1338
