bigdaddy
Senior Member



Joined: 11 May 2004
Posts: 31

Posted: 31 May 2004 12:13 am Post subject: CE rear hatch

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I purchased new hatch struts ( as desertdawg suggested ) & before installing I noticed the gap at front ( top ) looked like it was wider than it should be & accounted for the striker pins being way off to the rear. The previous owner had drilled an extra hole on each latch so that the pins would barely catch!
Can anyone tell me if the glass can be adjusted forward and how?
bigdaddy

Anybody?I too have the same problem.Would like to use the hatch.

Seems to be a common problem for most of us. Drilling a hole ? Yikes..
I have, on advise from people here, removed the hinges and squuezed them (CAREFULLY!) about 0.5 inches together, which resolved my gap issue. It's still a tight fit, but it at least worked to open and close the hatch. I cant find the thread that described it detail, might have gone awol during the move, but if you need, we can probably recall the procedure. Also: Some members are trying to figure out how to make new hinges (as to original spec) to solve that problem for the next 20+ years (ie. until they stretch out)..

If I could get my hands on one that was in spec.I could get someone here at work t0 make some out of some stronger solid metal.

Yep, thats part of the problem: Getting one in spec. If i recall correctly, no one was able to come up with one 'in original condition'.
If you go and squeeze them, just make sure to go SLOOOOOW. I did a 1/4 turn every 30-45 seconds. It might take a while, but it seemed to work dandy. Though once the towel i had wrapped the hinge in (to not scratch it on the teeth of the vise) slipped and the hinge went flying and my heart almost stopped. YIKES! After a lot of trying to bolt them back in i had to remove most of the shims, as they now fit tighter. Good luck!

Sounds scary!!I don't know if I want to do that.I don't know,I've got to do something.I guess this means GM is out of stock huh?Has anybody got the part # and tried to run it past the parts guy?

Hi Copter, Welcome to the registry.

This is an ongoing problem, we have been looking for almost a year now for a set of spare hinges, no luck so far. I had one guy on the corvette forum tell me he had a set, but repeated requests, and even a couple of offers of money went unanswered.

I emailed Mark about a set he might have seen, at this point we just need a set of hinges, we can re-bend them back to as close to original as we can for the molds to be made. One of our members works at a foundry in Colorado. and he is offering to do some molds for us, then he can pour some new hines that will not flex...

If you can help in any way please feel free to jump in here...

_________________
Arizona Corvette Enthusiasts
Gone, but not forgotten

If have to bend them how do you know when to stop?

I measured them prior to bending and decided on 0.5 inches, to have a good place to start. (Thats on the car, attached, i measured 0.5 inches from the top and 0.4 something on the pins on the bottom). I drew lines on the vise (so to not muck up the hinge) and went that far. They do come back a little after you are done, so i put them back in and went a tad further than the mark, when it movd back after that, they were right on. I could probably use a little more on them as the current 0.5 dont allow for any adjustment in the future, but i was SCARED out of my pants with doing the 0.5.. So, once it stops working, they'll go back into the vise and get bent again. It's actually not THAT scary, just make sure you go SLOW. You dont want to brake them; i havent seen replacements for them anywhere. So take your time and it'll be ok.
Oh and make sure you take all parts off of the hinge prior to bending, you dont want to muck up any of other bits.

any news @ hinges?

bigdaddy

Well, I removed mine to squeeze them some, and while I had them off, I made a mechanical drawing of them. And now I am no slowly making a CAD drawing. Being that I haven't done any drafting in over 20 years. and having only used CAD in the past to modify small RC plane plans, I think it's looking pretty good so far.

If anyone can offer any suggestions, I am all ears.

I have one view almost done, and will proceed on with the rest of the views soon. Plus I will be doing both sides because they are angled left and right, and the part number needs to be on the correct side if we want these to pass mustard when we get some made.

I still need to draw in the upper hole and offset. and I think this view will be done.
Can anyone tell me if this is up to snuff, or how far off from reality am I for sending this into a machine shop to have a set made???
I was thinking of trying these guys if no one else has any suggestions...
http://www.emachineshop.com/index.html


Here is what I have so far.

desertdawg-
Looks great! Since I haven't done any alterations to mine, I can't say yay or nay on your measurements. I would think that if we can't come up with a new, unused piece to copy, maybe a forum member that has altered theirs to the point that the hatch closes & latches properly would provide measurements to make a test set.
Refresh my ever-fading memory: did anyone decide what would be the best material to make replacements from?
Keep up the good work & info...

bigdaddy

I have a spare set, BUT they are not in speck.

I edited my picture.

With the glass sitting perfectly on the gasket, with the rear pins centered in the locks. I was able to put in the bolt through the glass, and the slots on the mounting brackets seemed to be centered around the bolt holes in the roof...

To me this is about as close to perfect as i was going to get, I then measured from the center of the pivot hole in the bracket end, to the center of the bolt hole (glass mating surface). Shown with the RED line.
I came up with 3 & 1/4 inch's between the two holes.

Does this look OK to everyone?????

D-dawg:
I found a rear hatch glass w/hinges in Tenn. Friday (11-05). I told the owner we were trying to find unused hinges, etc., his are used but he didn't know what the proper spacing is suppose to be either. Has it been determined that
3 1/4" between the holes is correct? He said to find out & he'll measure his also. As soon as I find his business card, I'll post it on the site. The man is @ 65 yrs. and has a unmarked
metal building FULL of Vette parts for all years! None of it is organized, just sitting or piled on shelves amd the floor! Get this: we were talking about the CE interior and he asked if needed any door panels for mine. WELL DUH!!! He dug out of a 4 foot pile of door panels, two used CE panels out of a rollover wreck. The leather is excellent, still soft, tight seams. The only negative: several tiny slits at the top-front of the panels where the windshield shattered and they need re-dying........ $50 each!! Luckily I haven't ordered the leather to redo the ones in mine now. I've got two red panels I'm going trade on them also with final cost between $30 & $40 each. Two used, straight front spoiler extensions $35-40 for both! I'll photo before & after redying door panels & post.

bigdaddy