I am trying to replace the driver's door hinge pins on my 78 Silver Anniversary. I have bought two sets of pins and bushings now. One from NAPA and one set from a Corevette Part vendor on EBay. In both sets the pins are way too long and the bushings seem like they will never fit in the hinges either. The pins I bought are just a hair over 4" in length.

Thanks

 

Somewhere, I think on this forum, I saw how to do this. You might try a search and see what comes up.

 

Thanks.

 

The replacement pins are longer than the original pins.. you'll have to cut them off which is really not that big if a deal.. The bushings... You might post a picture of the bushings.. they may be over-size bushings... The bushings should look like the ones in the picture below.



Now the next thing..

The easiest method and what I will now deem as the correct (at least to me) way to install the pins:

Pull off the door panel; remove the hinge bolt access covers. Spray paint the bolt heads with a good quick drying spray paint.. (Red, Green, White, the color won't matter).

When the paint is dry, remove the door from the hinges. Once this is done the hinge pin can be driven out and the new bushings and the pin re-installed. Do this on the upper and lower.

Now why paint the hinge bolts..

So you have a witness mark for re-installing the bolts in the same place. If the door has not been messed with by a PO, then you should be in the correct place. Tighten the screws and then re-install the door panel.

You can attempt to install the upper pin by taking material off the head of the top pin and doing so will allow clearance of the door outer fiberglass panel. But to insert the bushings correctly, you must move the door outward off the hinge on the top (or the bottom) depending on which hinge you are on. When you use this method the door will get very close to hitting the back edge of the fender! In fact, it will get so close that it can and in most cases chip the paint from one or the other. One other issue is that cutting material off the top pin will also devalue the integrity of the pin.

I'm sure there are people that will try it the Grind Way and get it done without issue. But it's not worth the risk because the time to install the pins is 1 hour by using the remove the door method and I don't think a little extra time will hurt anyone's feelings over risking a chip.

You will need a second person to help you when you re-install the door and painters tape would be highly advised for either method. You can use a Cherry picker, or a hoist to hold up the door while removing it. You put a towel on the door and runt two straps around it meeting in the middle. This makes the door stable while you are removing it.

Another note: It is also advised to check the condition of the rear striker bolt. When a door is not striking it properly there is a good chance the rubber is worn from inside of it and/or you will find wear damage.

You may also find your weatherstrip is not fitting good after new pins and bushings are installed. If they don't then you will need to re-fit the weatherstrips at this time.

The hinge will come apart once you remove the pin. When you remove the door the D cut is not needed to install the pin.

And lastly, never put grease on the pins or bushings. This will cause premature failure.

It's a smart idea to have the right tools for removing the door from your car.. A safe method is to purchase a door rack.. IMHO... I've never scratched a door using this tool and have replaced more pins than you can count.

Willcox

 

I just did my hinge pins and bushings. This video was a big help to me.

 

Great info - thanks!. Cutting the pins is not a big deal but wanted to make sure they were the right parts first.

 

Great video - thanks much.

 

That video was a great help to me as well. This was one of the first jobs I did with my car when I bought it. I used white spray paint, and it worked perfectly. I used a jack as shown in the video, and used straps anchored to the garage door frame above the car to keep the door upright. These doors are very heavy, take every precaustion to keep it from falling and getting damaged. I only ended up replacing the top pin in the driver's door because the sidepipes would not allow me to get the right angle to knock the bottom pin out. There wasn't any noticable play in that pin anyway, it was the top one that was badly worn.

It is very satisfying to swing the door closed and have it latch effortlessly.

John

 

I like that video too.. I like to spay paint the bolt heads vs. marking them. It's way more accurate for a witness mark. But.. Me personally.. I would never notch the top of the pin.

We've used that door jack stand countless times without any issue and I think they are cheap enough now that I found one on summit just now for 89.00 and I'm sure you can find them cheaper elsewhere.. possibly in the 60.00 range. (more than likely imported).. Mine.. I can assure you cost me way more. But that's way cheaper than trying to fix a chip. Again.. IMHO..

For us.. we use this tool constantly. It will also mount on our two pole lift so if we are installing guts in a door off the car we can simply mount this to our lift instead of a jack. As you can tell, I'm a huge fan.

I just found one for 63.00 at this link.. http://www.tooldiscounter.com/ItemDi...le&kw=STK21870

Willcox