Beetle door hinges.

[keithski122]

Anybody on here rebuilt beetle door hinges.
You can get oversize pins though they're expensive and would need reaming or drilling to an odd size to fit, 8.1 or 8.2mm.
I've been thinking of drilling to 8.5mm(0.5mm oversize) and using sprung roll pins.
Another thought is to drill the hinge hole to 9mm, insert some 9mm od brass tube, then use 8mm steel rod in the middle.Guess I'll have to make it so it doesn't drop out though.
Would a 8.5mm drilled hole be accurate enough for 8.5mm rod or 9mm for a 9mm brass bush.
The other option is just taking it to a machine shop and just letting them do it, probably cheaper than buying new hinges.

 

[madkayaker]

A photo would help.

 

[keithski122]

I'll try to get a pic during the week.
They're very basic hinges, solid metal with a solid pin going trough the top part of one side, through the other side and then back through the lower section of the first side.Bit like a hinge on a house door but with no bushings or bearings.

 

[german8rcoupe]

Get yourself some Cortina door pins. As you say they are sprung and we used to use them all the time when doing Beetles.

 

[keithski122]

Cheers for the tip, they look just the right size.Can't seem to get an 8.5mm roll pin otherwise.

 

[DrNik]

what about drilling out with a 8.5mm drill bit, and then use the drillbit as a pin

 

[german8rcoupe]

Too brittle Nik.
Just drill them in situ with the door closed.

 

[MrFluffy]

Never done beetle ones, but from a engineering perspective, I would have thought the tolerance in the pin->hole is a bit tight to be able to just send a drill through it and hope for the best, as the length of the door will amplify any resulting play quite dramatically and you can feel 0.02mm of play between a shaft and bush with some mk1 fingers without any leverage amplification.
you will probably pay about a tenner for a 8.5mm reamer off ebay. And while thats dear for one hole, you can use it to do them all, and have it in your workshop for any other 8.5mm holes you need to be done accurately afterwards and you'd by then have some experience with it.
You would drill undersize then ream the last few 0.xmm to size with the reamer. There are drill charts for reamers specifying the size for download if you google for them.
Split roll pins sound easier though, especially if your not in it for the hard learning while your at it.

 

[brightspark]

what about drilling out with a 8.5mm drill bit, and then use the drillbit as a pin

even if u could the land on the side of the drill would cut in to the hinge everytime it was opened :