True Connections

There is one item, often neglected, which gets a work out every time you drive your Chevelle or El Camino. There are many obvious answers but the one overlooked most often is the door hinges. The most common symptoms of worn out hinges are doors that are difficult to close, sagging problems and doors that won’t stay open. All 1964-1972 lower door hinges had the spring and detent to keep the door open and were different between left and right. The upper hinges were plain and can be swapped to either side. Some 1964 lower door hinges had a one off detent lever that had a scissor action. This design was very poor and was upgraded to a single lever and roller design in 1965 and was used through 1967. The 1964 & 1965 lower hinges interchange with each other as do 1966 & 1967 lower hinges all of which were made of cast iron. The 1964 & 1965 upper hinges interchange and were cast of aluminum. 1966 upper hinges were cast of aluminum and were one year only as were the 1967 upper hinges which were stamped steel. Most 1964-1967 door hinges were assembled at the factory with nylon bushings which quickly wore out. New reproduction hinges are now available but for the do it yourselfers out there we have kits available to rebuild your factory hinges. Upper hinges are easy to rebuild, simply pound out the pivot pin to split the halves, remove the old bushings, install new ones, pound the new pin in. The lower hinges are a little more difficult. You need to be careful splitting the halves since the detent spring is under tension, once separated, you need to cut off the roller, if it isn’t missing already, and smooth out the little pad that the roller mounts on. Center punch the pin that mounted the stock roller, then drill (be sure to drill a small pilot hole first) and tap with a ¼ - 20 tap. Now you can mount the new roller with the shoulder stud provided. It’s a good idea to use a little locktite on the threads of the stud, being sure you don’t get any on the shoulder, and lube the shoulder where the roller will ride. Next you can pound out the pin that holds the old lever in place and install the new lever but don’t pound the pin all the way back in. Install the new bushings, and pound the hinge pin in. Next use a vise to compress the spring between the hinge base and the detent lever, and pull on the hinge so the lever clears the roller. Finish up by pounding the lever pin all the way in.

1968-1972 hinges were stamped steel and were the same throughout the years. The detent still used a lever and roller but the lever was beefier and the roller was on the end of a large diameter pin that extended through the entire hinge. The only difference in rebuilding 68-72 hinges is that you don’t need to remove the detent lever and there is no drilling and taping of the roller. Once disassembled, simply pound out the large detent pin and install the new one with the bolt and washer supplied. To ensure a long happy life for your door hinges be sure to lube them every now and then. One more word of advise, if possible, replace or rebuild your door hinges before you paint the car. Next month we’ll discuss door latches.