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1982 - 1992 Chevy Camaro - Open & Shut CaseRehab Your Camaro's Door Hinges for a Tighter 3rd-Gen From the March, 2006 issue of Chevy High Performance By John Nelson
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In a hobby full of aural delights, it's often the small noises that bring the most satisfaction. There's nothing like bellowing pipes for an automotive adrenaline rush, but it's hard to match the satisfaction of a solid "clunk" as a perfectly restored and adjusted door latches into place. Unfortunately, many third-gen Camaro aficionados don't know what we're talking about. The newest of these cars are nearly 15 years old, and the oldest more than 20. So unless you were lucky enough to own a fresh-off-the-line Camaro or a low-mile used specimen, chances are your friend's long, heavy doors are sagging on worn hinges. Restoring that factory-fresh clunk would be reason enough to give this area some TLC, but as we learned, there's a lot more at stake, namely the very integrity of your Camaro's body. We got the low-down on just how critical this area is from Andy Sherrer, president of Automotive Hinge Solutions and creator of the Door Hinge Repair Kit for '82-92 Camaros we picked up from Classic Industries. Sherrer made time to rehab the hinges on our '84 Z28 while on a West Coast trip, and explained how this process is about much more than doors that shut nicely. We'll paraphrase what this Camaro guru told us, and you can also read a more extensive explanation at Andy's Web site, www.andyz28.com. First of all, Sherrer reminded us the third-gen F-body is a unibody car, so it doesn't have an actual frame. Rather, it has front and rear subframes, a floorpan, two doors, and a roof. This setup is much lighter and less expensive than a body-on-frame layout, but isn't anywhere near as strong. Recognizing the need for body reinforcement, GM utilized the doors. Ever wonder why third-gen doors are so heavy? It's because they've been heavily reinforced, and as Andy told us, "These reinforcements to the door are critical to body integrity and strength. Once the doors are closed, it becomes a strong, solid connection between the door striker and the upper door hinge." Of course, all this weight puts a great strain on the hinges, especially the top assembly. Doors that sag and hit the ground effects are the least of your worries. If the critical juncture is worn out, the body, especially the cowl, is free to move about. Eventually, it will move enough to cause cracks. Subframe connectors are the best way to reinforce a unibody car, but installing a set on a third-gen Camaro won't entirely eliminate the problems caused by worn hinges. So what's the solution? Sherrer showed us the "official" procedure, which is a bit draconian, to say the least. We'll give you the abridged version: After removing the door, those with the temerity to try this method must scribe the location of the hinge where it attaches to the door with several welds, which must be found and drilled out. Then the new hinge must be properly located on the door so that four new bolt holes can be drilled to attach the hinge to a reinforcing plate placed inside the door. The procedure is similar for the new lower hinge, which only has two bolt holes and must be attached to the body, which takes three bolts. (One hole location must be transferred to the hinge.) What do you think the odds are of having a door that lines up? Sherrer decided the answer was to replace the hinge pins and bushings rather than the entire hinge assembly, so he had new pieces made for his '86 IROC, and eventually made the pieces available to the public as a kit. We'll show you the process, but suffice it to say it's much less painful than the ordeal described above. Sherrer says he's installed a repair kit (each one fixes one door) in as little as 47 minutes, though he advises most folks to plan on two hours. We'd say this is right on. But what's even more impressive than the short time commitment is the result. The repair components were easy enough to install, but we were amazed when the repaired and reattached driver's door swung shut-without any alignment or adjustment-and latched with a solid clunk. For a day's worth of work, we ended up with doors that shut like they're supposed to and a Z28 that's functionally more solid than it was. Count us satisfied.  The lower hinge bolts aren't...  The lower hinge bolts aren't as user-friendly. This one threads into the subframe and is best reached by unfastening the front inner fender panel and reaching in with a wrench.  Next up is the lower hinge...  Next up is the lower hinge pin. After knocking it loose with a punch, the head can be grabbed with pliers and the pin pulled free. The hinge is loose.  A punch is again the tool...  A punch is again the tool of choice for removing the lower hinge pin bushings. Although our doors weren't in terrible condition, these bushings have seen better days. We didn't think our doors flexed much until we saw the crack through this bushing.  The other two lower hinge...  The other two lower hinge bolts go through the subframe and hinge bracket to thread into the door. With the kick panel removed and the wiring relay unbolted, they're easy to reach with an extension and a socket.  Despite appearances, the hinge...  Despite appearances, the hinge roller doesn't show inordinate wear, and our lower hinge is in serviceable condition. It's a good thing, too, since replacing it with a new one, as shown on the left, means figuring out where to drill that third hole.  The Upper Hinge Repair Kit...  The Upper Hinge Repair Kit comes with the goods to fix one door. The lower hinge takes the relatively narrow one-piece pin and bushings on the right. Note the beefier construction of the upper hinge pins and bushings, which is indicative of the greater stress placed on this area.  The new bushings simply press...  The new bushings simply press into the lower hinge. A few taps with a hammer will firmly seat them.  After putting a dab of grease...  After putting a dab of grease in each bushing, the holes on the hinge are aligned with those on the hinge bracket and the new pin pushed into place. A final tap with a hammer will seat it and click the pin's retaining clip into place.  And then there's Plan B. Although...  And then there's Plan B. Although our new pin and bushings had a nice, tight fit, the hinge pin head was slightly loose in the hinge bracket, allowing the hinge to wobble. Andy used a punch and a deft touch to tighten up this hole. The pin was knocked back into place, and the unwanted play was gone.  All that remained was to replace...  All that remained was to replace the detent spring, and just like that our lower hinge had a new lease on life.  We've discussed how critical...  We've discussed how critical the upper door hinges are to the third-gen F-body's structural integrity. This Camaro door spilled its guts to show us why. Note the stout bar tied into the door latch-it runs to the front of the door, where it's tied into the upper door hinge. In a unibody car, this reinforcement is important. (Photo courtesy of Andy Sherrer)  The original upper hinge bushings...  The original upper hinge bushings will also be replaced; as with the smaller bottom bushings, a punch is used to drive them out.  The upper hinge rehab starts...  The upper hinge rehab starts by using a small grinding disc to grind off the swaged ends of the upper pins. These pins are much larger than the lower hinge pin, so there's a lot of metal to grind through.  Once the end of the top upper...  Once the end of the top upper hinge pin has been removed, the remainder of the pin can be tapped out with a punch. The bottom upper hinge pin gets the same treatment, though you work from the bottom and tap the pin up through the hinge.  Old versus new: The kit provided...  Old versus new: The kit provided by Classic Industries has two shouldered 4041 steel pins (nickel-plated, to boot), two Phosphor bronze flanged bushings, and two aircraft-grade 12-point high-tensile nuts. These materials far outclass the original items.  The abrasive material included...  The abrasive material included in the repair kit is used to clean the surface around the hinge bushing bores. According to our expert, these bushings mustn't be forced into their bores if they are to properly fit the pins. If they don't slip right in, a small sanding wheel can be used to dress the bore.  Once the bores are prepared,...  Once the bores are prepared, the bushings get a coat of the red Loctite included in the kit. The bushings should be rotated to distribute the Loctite-if you can see it seeping out around the edge of the bushing, you got the right amount.  We're jumping ahead a bit...  We're jumping ahead a bit here, but we're sure you'll get the idea. After the door holes are aligned with the hinge holes, the top pin is installed (grease fitting facing down) and its nut placed on finger-tight. Similarly, the lower pin goes in from the top (grease fitting facing up). The pin is tapered, so it won't fully seat on the bushing until the nuts are tightened...which is the next step.  By the way, you probably noticed...  By the way, you probably noticed we mentioned grease fittings. Although Classic Industries sells a "Standard" Hinge Repair Kit that's a bit less expensive, the "Greaseable" upper hinge pins are clearly the hot ticket. When a little lube shows around the pin, you've got it right. Grease it once a year and you'll be good to go.  It's only been a couple of...  It's only been a couple of hours, but we've got better-than-new hinges on our Z28's driver's door. Once the weatherstripping we unfastened is put back in place, this door is ready for reinstallation...  ...which is a snap, since...  ...which is a snap, since the hinges bolt to the car in their original positions, eliminating almost all fitting concerns.  The last item on our agenda...  The last item on our agenda was replacing the door strikers. When doing so, be sure to remove the small grille above the striker so that you can reach inside and hold its retainer, or the day will turn bad. The wear pattern on this striker was acceptable, but they're cheap, so we replaced it anyway.  Andy transferred the washer...  Andy transferred the washer pack, including the plastic washer, from the old striker to the new. This is the passenger-side striker, and our visiting professor of Camarology didn't like what he saw, namely the small mark on the top of the striker.  This was easy enough to fix...  This was easy enough to fix with this door-alignment tool from Mac Tools. All it took was a small pry up to get the passenger door in line, with the latch hitting the striker on its sides.  The driver's door, on the...  The driver's door, on the other hand, swung right into place, no adjustment necessary. Seemingly little fixes can make a surprisingly big difference, and that's the case here. With properly working doors on tight hinges, this Z28 is much more enjoyable to drive.
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