Datsun Roadster Forum-311s.org

For anyone who has worn hinges, you may find this useful.

The factory hinge pins are 5/16 with a spline at the top. To remove them, you need to punch the pin in an upwards direction. All of my hinges had some play and I wanted to refresh them. Since both the pins and the hinges had some wear, it made sense to upsize. Dorman makes a replacement pin for a Ford F150, part number 703-269 (2 pins) or 38410 (1 pin) that is 11/32 diameter with a spline on top. The pins are a little bit long, you could cut them if you’re so inclined, but I chose to leave them as is to keep the plating intact. There’s a groove for a retaining ring again if you’re worried.

Once you disassemble your existing hinges, if you want the hinges to move freely without any resistance, drill the entire assembly out with an 11/32 drill bit. When driving the new pins in for the first time, the splines will cut the appropriate grooves to lock them in place.

I wanted a little bit of friction (can work the hinges by hand, but when on the car, keeps the door slightly damped in movement) and to eliminate any slop. I drilled the inboard side with 11/32, but on the door side drilled it all the way through with an R size drill, which is a tiny bit smaller, then re-drilled with 11/32 but only about 75% of the way through leaving a small portion a little bit tighter. Any less than this they were too tight.

The 4 pins were ~$40 CAD and now they’re nice and tight again.

Are you sure you about the size 11/16’s, maybe 3/8’s or 7/16’s? 11/16 would make it just under 3/4’s of an inch in diameter, I don’t think there is enough material in the hinges to open it up that much. Great idea to bore it out and insert a slightly larger pin.

looks like a 3/8" pin dia

edit: Just checked part number and the Pin is .342" in X 3.57" ... Basically 11/32 for a 3/8 diameter bushing

david premo wrote: Sun Jan 12, 2025 4:23 pm Are you sure you about the size 11/16’s, maybe 3/8’s or 7/26’s? 11/16 would make it just under 3/4’s of an inch in diameter, I don’t think there is enough material in the hinges to open it up that much. Great idea to bore it out and insert a slightly larger pin.

Thanks for the catch, I knew there was an 11 in there somewhere. It should have read 11/32, I corrected the post.

That sounds much better, only .031 larger diameter. It would even allow for another repair or two as there would be plenty of material.

Now that you have the formula and procedure... make us a bunch! I'd pay!

I just bought the pins and they work great! No more sloppy hinges !