73 Giulia Super Rebuild, Automobile Work, Automobilia

Replace Giulia Super Hinge Pins

Worn hinges are something to expect for a 40 plus year old car. The Alfa Romeo Giulia Super (and Berlina) hinges were made from steel with a simple split pin pressed into the hinge as a pivot. Even with lubrication the hinge will wear but in this case (as apposed to the Alfa GTV) it is not a bent or warn pin – but worn hinge holes. Over time the holes enlarge (usually on the door hinge). This will cause the door to drop down enough to cause it to hit the striker and possibly damage it. Replacing the spit pin with a new one will not correct the problem since the worn part is the hinge itself. What needs to be done is to knock out the old pins and tap in four sleeve bearings into each hinge. These bearings are Bronze-Backed PTFE Plastic Bearings with Steel Shell. They are designed to be self-lubricating bushings they are rolled bushings composed of a steel backing, for structural strength, with bonded layers of sintered bronze and PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene similar to Teflon) for a maintenance free bearing surface. These bushing work best when fit very snugly. This forces the split in the bearing to close thereby fitting snugly on the shoulder bolt. Since the hole in the hinge is larger then it should be steel shim material needs to be inserted along with the bearing to ensure a sung fit.  Then Stainless Steel Shoulder Screws are tapped into the hinge and locked down with a stainless steel nylon locking nut and washer.
Links to parts needed:

18-8 Stainless Steel Precision Shoulder Screw (2 per door)
High-Load Dry-Running Bearing with Steel Shell (4 per door)

 

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2 Comments

  1. Rotciv says:

    Nice post!
    Kemosabe, you are really getting it all done on that beautiful cool little Alfa.

  2. Dink says:

    Nice job! Will prevend a lot of door slamming (by someone whose name I will not mention here… 😀 )

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