Trunk hinge repair, JWest pivot kit Options

[J123young]

Has anyone used this kit? Looking for feedback and results if worth it.

Thanks

Jeff

[amfab]

The JWest trunk plates are the best option. They are very well made.

The easiest part is installing the JWest pieces

The third hardest part is removal and reinstallation of the trunk lid

The second hardest part is removing and reinstalling the torsion bars

The hardest part is getting the old hinge pivots off.

see:
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...k+hinge+breaker

...for removing torsion bars

To get the old hinge pivots off, I found the best tools were a cut off tool to grind away the pivots, a furniture pad to allow laying on the trunk while grinding, and a welding blanket to cover stuff in the engine compartment while grinding.

I would also start with a little larger hole size than the minimum recommended by the JWest instructions. This will allow more adjustability later on (the instructions say that you can do this).

After doing the install I found that one side could come up a hair to make the lid perfectly aligned. Because I used the minimum hole size, I now have to remove the plates on that side and re-drill them larger.

This means I have to undo the torsion bars again and take the trunk lid off to re-drill the holes a larger diameter.

If I would have made the mounting holes a little bigger to begin with, I would be able to loosen the plate bolts and move the pivot up a hair without the extra work.

-Andrew

[aggiezig]

The easiest part is installing the JWest pieces

The third hardest part is removal and reinstallation of the trunk lid

The second hardest part is removing and reinstalling the torsion bars

The hardest part is getting the old hinge pivots off.

I just purchased the J West kit and Camp's strut kit and I guess I am really lucky because the PO removed the torsion bars AND old hinge pivots. So I'm just left with the two least hard steps (IMG:style_emoticons/default/piratenanner.gif)

Will be posting the pics in my build thread once I get around to installing the J West hinge mount kit.