Hood Hinge Question

[WillW23]

The rivets do not wear out, but with long time use, with little or no lubrication, the rivet hole becomes egg-shaped. When this happens, the round rivet is turning in an oval hole, which will create side to side movement in the rivet hole or up and down movement in the pivot joints, when lubed finally. This will lead to misalignment and some arms resisting, thus pushing the hood in sloppy ways when lowering and raising the hoods.
You have to ream the rivet holes round again, after you drill out the rivet and make a custom rivet to fit that exact hole. A couple thousandth's over the rivet size allows the rivet to swell when pressed into place.
I can post a photo of what a worn or oval rivet hole looks like, if you like

Willie

[kxmotox247]

I just got a new set of hinges and springs from GMCPauls. So far... so good. Bolted right up but had to wallow out one mounting hole slightly. That could be due to having repro fenders.
I'm impressed so far. The old hinges and springs were just worn out. Trying to do body work and get everything fit and I just couldn't get consistent with the old hinges. With the new ones... the hood closes nicely every time. They appear to be identical in every aspect to OEM.

[leddzepp]

Board member Sinister posted a long time ago that his repro hinges from Brothers (made in Argentina ) fit and worked very well. I have never tried them, but if the need arises I plan to.

[Grumpy old man]

I would use a BFH and a little heat to reset the existing rivet if you don't have a shop press in your garage , Take them to any welding shop and have them heat press them for you offer $20.00 and a six pack of their favorite adult beverage !. You can buy new rivets at rivetsonline.com Simple CHEAP fix !

[Motorhead-47]

Originally Posted by WillW23

The rivets do not wear out, but with long time use, with little or no lubrication, the rivet hole becomes egg-shaped. When this happens, the round rivet is turning in an oval hole, which will create side to side movement in the rivet hole or up and down movement in the pivot joints, when lubed finally. This will lead to misalignment and some arms resisting, thus pushing the hood in sloppy ways when lowering and raising the hoods.
You have to ream the rivet holes round again, after you drill out the rivet and make a custom rivet to fit that exact hole. A couple thousandth's over the rivet size allows the rivet to swell when pressed into place.
I can post a photo of what a worn or oval rivet hole looks like, if you like

Willie

Thanks for the detail Willie. This is pretty much what I thought that the issue is more of the hinge hole becomes elongated over time rather than the rivet wearing down. Installing new rivets by themselves without addressing the out of round rivet holes would do little to tighten up the hinges.