Door Hinge Do-Over
This is the lower driver’s door hinge from my 1961 Impala two door hardtop on the bench with the spring removed. It’s upside down here so you can see the deep groove worn in the detent roller (center of photo). The car’s door swung open and closed freely without any detent action because the roller was completely worn through.
To fix things up, I purchased this Shafer’s Classic Reproductions 1961 – 1964 Chevrolet Full Size Door Hinge Repair Kit. It retails for $28 and includes four bushings (only two are pictured because I’d already installed the other two in my upper hinge), two pins, a detent pin and roller as well as a new spring.
There’s a small access hole on the opposite side of the detent roller, so I sprayed penetrating oil into the hole several times over the course of a couple of days and let it soak.
I tried driving the detent roller pin out with a punch after soaking it, but it wouldn’t budge, so I applied some heat with a gas welding tip on my oxy acetylene torch.
After heating the area around the pin, I was able to tap the pin out with a 3/32-inch center punch and a ball peen hammer.
Here’s the old worn out pin and roller compared to the new. The reproduction pieces are a perfect match.
I lucked out and was able to just tap the pin out with a ball peen hammer. (I was able to remove the pin in my upper hinge the same way) You might have to soak the pin with penetrating oil, apply some heat and squeeze the pins out with a bench vise or C-clamp.