Trunk hinge repair, JWest pivot kit Options

[J123young]

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

Thanks

Jeff

[GregAmy]

Did one on my street car 3-4 weekends ago with Chris Foley. After looking at what was involved, it was fiddly work but IMO a lot less work than welding in a replacement sheet metal version, and a much better-designed long-term fix.

I'd do it again.

[jim_hoyland]

What are the steps to replacement ?

[NFBrown]

I did my right hinge a couple of years ago. The only hard part is unhooking the torsion bar. The rest is just following the instructions.

Nick

[jim_hoyland]

What does it take to remove an original hinge ?

[J123young]

What does it take to remove an original hinge ?

I just ordered them so we will see this weekend. I'm not sure either.

[GregAmy]

Old hinge mount point comes off with a chop saw and a grinder.

That torsion spring is a bitch. I removed my hinge myself and damn near took a finger with it. Once I did that I recognized I was going to need help, so I brought it for Chris and Ed to assist. It was Chris that suggested the JWest solution.

I'm not sure how I would have put that torsion spring on myself. Tangerine has a tool to make it easier and it's not something you can buy at Harbor Freight. I could not find any "how to" online for it, and it's hard to explain. It can be done with various combinations of sockets and closed-end wrenches but having a friend helps a ton. Just be careful, it packs a lot of torque; I can see why some change those to hatch shocks.

[ChrisFoley]

I could not find any "how to" online for it, and it's hard to explain.

Pretty sure I went to the factory repair manual (years ago) for tooling ideas.
What I have is crude and entails some risk so I won't share specifics online but it does help get the job done.
Just one of those tools we don't use often enough for me to invest in upgrades.

One thing I like about the JWest hinge mounts is they are adjustable up and down.
If you weld in a new oem style mount the only way to adjust the deck lid height is adding washers between the hinge and lid.

[J123young]

I could not find any "how to" online for it, and it's hard to explain.

Pretty sure I went to the factory repair manual (years ago) for tooling ideas.
What I have is crude and entails some risk so I won't share specifics online but it does help get the job done.
Just one of those tools we don't use often enough for me to invest in upgrades.

One thing I like about the JWest hinge mounts is they are adjustable up and down.
If you weld in a new oem style mount the only way to adjust the deck lid height is adding washers between the hinge and lid.

do you have a picture of the tool? or where on the torsion spring you pry?

[J123young]

I could not find any "how to" online for it, and it's hard to explain.

Pretty sure I went to the factory repair manual (years ago) for tooling ideas.
What I have is crude and entails some risk so I won't share specifics online but it does help get the job done.
Just one of those tools we don't use often enough for me to invest in upgrades.

One thing I like about the JWest hinge mounts is they are adjustable up and down.
If you weld in a new oem style mount the only way to adjust the deck lid height is adding washers between the hinge and lid.

Where on the torsion spring do you pry? Do you have a picture you could post?

[ChrisFoley]

Click me

[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

[JWest]

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


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

You do not have to take the trunk lid off to install the kit.

Do one side at a time.

You can remove the hinge arm to get access to remove the old support.

Once the old parts are gone, using a helper to hold the lid open, install the arm on the trunk lid.

Lower the trunk lid. Install the JWest hinge onto the trunk hinge arm. Then you can drill 3 of the holes right in place with the trunk lid closed and perfectly positioned.

Put the 3 bolts in and tighten them, then raise the lid and you can drill the last hole and put the bolt in.

There is no need to remove the lid at any point in the process.

[J123young]

[quote name='JWest' date='Apr 4 2017, 01:09 PM' post='2471989']
[quote name='amfab' post='2471982' date='Apr 4 2017, 11:37 AM']

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


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


[/quote]

You do not have to take the trunk lid off to install the kit.

Do one side at a time.

You can remove the hinge arm to get access to remove the old support.

Once the old parts are gone, using a helper to hold the lid open, install the arm on the trunk lid.

Lower the trunk lid. Install the JWest hinge onto the trunk hinge arm. Then you can drill 3 of the holes right in place with the trunk lid closed and perfectly positioned.

Put the 3 bolts in and tighten them, then raise the lid and you can drill the last hole and put the bolt in.

There is no need to remove the lid at any point in the process.


Thank for the info. I just ordered them and looking forward to installing them. I hope there is some instructions that come with them as well.

Jeff

[markhoward]

Ordered a set too. One less thing to weld! All I need now is a jwest bolt in hell hole and rear floor (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[wes]

I really like the Jwest kit though had it installed along with the shock kit, great improvement although one more step of original.

[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.

[J123young]

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

Thanks

Jeff

Well I installed them Sunday. They work great! Only took about 20 min.