I took apart the trim trying to fix my hinges gap and I'm not sure what or how doing it. Curranty I have a gap size of 3/4". wonder if I should use vise...
It looks like previous owner tried to fix it before

 

find a tool and die guy and make new hinges. then start selling them on this forum. every CE needs hatch hinges. they are weak and bend open. try to bend em back and they will break. a little more creative shimming may help. and maybe add some lowes type window weatherstripping to close the gap. then NEVER OPEN IT AGAIN!!!

 

our company vendor in China charge $5,000 per die, not included blueprint drawing. Doesn't make sense

 

Someone with mad welding skills should be able to fab that. How does the C4 hatch hinge work?

 

no currently available-at least found-hinge works on this glass. you could probably fire up a bridgeport and whip a couple out. but only if you had a bridgeport and some practice...

 

Problem is with the soft aluminum that the originals were made from. The following is an excerpt copied from a posting or email from a repro source.(edited)

"First, some background on the hatch glass problem: The opening hatch for a C3 Corvette was first offered by a third party as a kit. GM bought the kits and installed them on production Collector Edition Corvettes as a way to make them unique (and to sell more of the cars).

Note: Photos in this document are web links. Use your browser back button after viewing.

http://www.thecubestudio.com/picture...HatchAdWEB.jpg

So, it is significant to consider that GM's engineers did not design the hinges. The original hinges are sand castings made from very weak and inexpensive material . . . most likely a zinc alloy.

The latches on the rear of the glass are slotted and therefore are not intended, and are in fact incapable of fixing the glass position in the forward/backward direction. The gas springs ('struts') impart a steady pressure rearward when the glass is closed and that force must be resisted by the hinges. Acceleration adds to the stress placed on the hinges. They are not strong enough and are made of a material that 'creeps', so, as we all know, over time (in some cases only a few months!) the hinges slowly bend and allow the glass to move rearward until the latch pins reach the end of the latch slots, which then jams the hatch closed.

So there you have it. Other than disconnecting the gas springs, there is no way to stop a Collector Edition hatch from creeping rearward and eventually jamming. Unfortunately, many of the cars have had both the hinge mounting brackets and also the latch pins mangled in an attempt to get more adjustment or to free the latches. People have removed the hinges and squeezed them back in a vice to what they thought were the original dimensions. It is very unfortunate that some owners have bought used original hinges from less-that-ethical sellers for about $200 and for as much as $500 for a set described as 'unsprung' hinges from a 'super low mileage' car or even hinges claimed to be 'new'. All in vain . . . the hinges will stretch and stretch again no matter what you do to them, or how new or old they are. It is just a bad design."

 

Totally agree with this, but dont forget to become a Supporting Vendor first.

Selling those hinges would have been very profitable here if prior sellers would have done this.

 

The cube studio used to sell them and then he stops. I have tried to purchase a set from him around June 22 and few weeks ago I had to central the order

 

I don't believe this is correct. When Cars & Concepts (the manufacturer of the hatch) released their hatch conversion in 79, I'm pretty it was developed in conjunction with GM Engineering, and Corvette Chief Engineer Dave McLellan. Chevrolet used the C & C hatch conversions on a number of Corvette show cars, including the 3 variations of the Turbo Corvette show cars shown between 79 and 81, and the two Corvettes built in 79 and 80 for the NCCC to use as raffle cars, to benefit the Spina Bifida Association.

None of this changes the fact that the hinges were junk, but Chevrolet's not innocent.

 

if you sell a POS that somebody else designed, you are still selling a POS...

 

You DO NOT have to remake, make new or have a vendor (edited) make you a set of his outrageously expensive hinges at $300 a pop. Contact Hal L-46man. He has the secret to getting them to work properly.

 

I wouldn't really call $300 each outrageously expensive, if it cures the problem.

 

If I'm not mistaken, Steve has stopped making the hinges anymore.

 

True.

 

this is true. Starting in 83 I electrocoated, powder coated, and liquid coated and some assembly for cars and concepts. Every supplier of the parts i painted were an oem supplier from door handle castings to hinge castings, mirrors, header trim to pillars, convertibles and t tops. Ford and GM. They were huge in oem.

 

good luck on that!!