Hinge pin removal '66 Cuda deck lid

[4spdcuda66]

I clamped this hinge in the vice and tried to drive the pin out with a punch. It is really in there tight. The punch would not budge it and the hinge kept slipping out of the vice jaws. I don't want to clamp it too tightly since it is a cast piece, I'm afraid it will crack or break. The end I was hitting with the punch mushroomed, so I ground it flush and tried again. It still will not budge. There is about 1/4 inch of play in the deck lid because the center piece is worn. I want to get it out so I can fit it with a new pin. Anyone have experience here or suggestions?

 

[65fish]

When we the first one of mine appart we found out that the pin was fine it was the upper part on the hinge that was worn. Left the other one alone and decided to forget about it. A new gasket and did help keep the lid from making any noise or moving.

Hope that helps.

If not drill it out?

 

[Darwin]

The pin on mine actually broke and I was sitting there with one half of the hinge in each hand. For the life of me I couldn't get the pin out of either piece, I even tried a little heat. I ended up finding a guy on craigs list parting one out and he sold me a hinge for $15. If you can't find one pm me and I can see if he still has the other one.

Bob

 

[4spdcuda66]

Thanks guys. It is the center part of the hinge that is worn. My plan is to get the pin out and drill it slightly over size and re-pin it. Maybe drilling is my last option.

 

[Blownfish]

I've had 7 of these Barracuda's and I have never been able to get the pin out of these hinges, you will need to drill it out or have a machinist bore it out.

Also, DO NOT use it if the pin is worn or has ANY rust, even if it looks ok, the middle of the pin will rust away and still feel ok, they are real thin and even if one of the pins break, your deck lid will catch the air along the front and break the other pin and go flying down the road. Yes! this happened to me back around 83 the one pin was just a little loose and had a fine dust of rust around it, well it broke and on the way home the air (not going fast) caught it and it sheered the other off and the deck lid went sliding and spinning down the road.

 

[4spdcuda66]

I'm going to try to drill it out. My plan is to file the sides of the center piece so I can use brass door pin bushings on that piece. I'll have to drill oversize a little. My local auto parts supply house has a large assortment of long, small diameter hinge pins. If I keep it oiled and drill carefully, I think this should be no problem. They sure didn't want those pins to come loose did they?lol Thanks for the info guys.

 

[4spdcuda66]

I ground the end of the pin off flush with the hinge and drilled down to where the two parts of the hinge meet each other, flipped it and drilled the other direction. As you can see in the photos, I was mistaken about the center hinge piece being worn. The pin had rusted in two on only one side, which is where the slop was coming from. This must be what Blownfish was talking about. I would suggest that anyone who notices slop in the deck lid hinges take them out and fix them. I have a 1/4 inch pin that will work, but I'm going to try to find one 3/16 inch or so to keep the size of the new hole to a minimum. I'll keep you updated. So far this has been fairly simple, I just need to find the pin I'm going to use and finish it up.

 

[4spdcuda66]

I couldn't find any pins smaller than about 1/4 inch, so I used the one left over from the door pin kit. Good news for 1st gen. Barracuda owners, all the pins you need to do one set of door hinges plus the trunk hinge all come in one package. You'll need two packages to get both sides done. It is the Help! brand found at Autozone pn.38381 The pin itself measured .247", just under 1/4 inch. I used a 6.3mm bit (.2482") to drill the hinge body. It is a nice tight tolerance that does not bind and has no slop in it, a very good repair. You can see in the photo where the tapered end sticks out a little and looks like the hole is too big. The hole is not too big, and that taper is only inside the hole about 1/16 inch. The knurl on the other end holds the pin in the hole very snug. If that little bit bothers you, you can drill and cotter pin it or even score it and "e" clip it. If your center hinge piece is worn badly, you can use the brass bushings provided in the kit. They are 3/8 inch O.D. That would be cutting it close, but there is enough material on that hinge to make it work. Drill the outside piece all the way through to be sure the holes line up concentric. I did not use the bushings for this repair.

 

[Blownfish]

Very nice, I have a set of those pins in the garage and I was going to try the same thing. I guess I need to get them done now for the other Fish.

 

[4spdcuda66]

Very nice, I have a set of those pins in the garage and I was going to try the same thing. I guess I need to get them done now for the other Fish.

Not taking any chances on losing another deck lid? lol I'll have to do the other one too, the pin rusted in two on both of mine. It will be a one time fix.

 

[4spdcuda66]

The pin on mine actually broke and I was sitting there with one half of the hinge in each hand. For the life of me I couldn't get the pin out of either piece, I even tried a little heat. I ended up finding a guy on craigs list parting one out and he sold me a hinge for $15. If you can't find one pm me and I can see if he still has the other one.

Bob

Thanks for the offer Bob, got 'er done.8)