Did you ever get your hinge pin removed? And if so by what means?
I recently had great, even dramatic success using an air hammer with a punch attachment. I had tried a couple of the c-clamp type tools and had soaked the pins/hinges in Kroil for two weeks prior to making the first effort. Could not get the pins to budge with those but the air hammer worked like magic! Suggestions: cover the surrounding body areas with something to protect it, and drop the air pressure down to about 50 pounds. We started off with too much pressure and couldn't control the punch.
I recently had great, even dramatic success using an air hammer with a punch attachment. I had tried a couple of the c-clamp type tools and had soaked the pins/hinges in Kroil for two weeks prior to making the first effort. Could not get the pins to budge with those but the air hammer worked like magic! Suggestions: cover the surrounding body areas with something to protect it, and drop the air pressure down to about 50 pounds. We started off with too much pressure and couldn't control the punch.
My son and I built a 30 CCPU from parts collected from Sammy Guthries "bone yard". The cab was off an AA tanker truck which was restored with a much better cab . The cab was in dire state and the pins were frozen solid so I drilled,heated etc etc to no avail . I could see I was on a hiding to nowhere (English saying) and was beginning to disturb the hinge pillar connection .So I bit the bullet and with a thin cutting disc I cut a slot in the hinge and with a chisel I slightly opened it up and the pins then punched out .After the doors were off I ground a flat and migged the slot closed then with the deft use of my trusty angle grinder with a flapper disc the repair could not be seen . Doors went back OK but one pin migrates upwards over time but that will be an easy fix .
John in Suffolk County England .
This method worked on 1 stubborn pin that I could not remove.If you don't have to worry about damaging paint , I heat the cowl half of hinge red hot where the pins go through . Heating red hot expands the hinge so that the pins can be more easy to remove . If failed attempts have been made at driving the hinge pin out from the bottom , the pin is probably expanded . This is why I prefer drilling the pin part way out from the top side and driving the remainder of the pin out from the top side .
Our local club had a work day last weekend, and we removed hinge pins on a Tudor sedan. The owner had soaked the hinges with kroil for several days. When a hammer and punch didn’t work, we used an air hammer and the pins popped right out.
For my 30 standard coupe, I've removed my pins with a bit of difficulty and found the drill both sides method, then punch through works best. The "C" clamp shaped press was a waste money! Once I examined the removed pins, I found they were misshaped which adds to the problem of pushing them out without relieving resistance by drilling first.
Does anyone have a surefire means of selecting replacement pins? Some sample pins I purchased of different diameters fit holes in some of my hinges and not in others. Since all hinges are removed from the body and doors, it will be easy for me to drill the same size holes in all hinges and use the same size pins. Can any of you provide what worked uniformly for you as to size of drill bit and hinge diameter? Second question - any benefit of using stainless pins versus steel? I'm not concerned over the authenticity, rather am focusing on the functionality. My thanks.