Beetle Door Hinge Replacement

[clockworkbox]

I searched everywhere for a comprehensive guide on how to replace Beetle door hinges. The best guide I found was from Joel:
https://forums.aussieveedubbers.com/viewtopic.php?tid=85049
Thanks Joel, your post was the basis for how I did it. There was some information that I did not have and I'm making this guide so that hopefully someone else might find it useful and make the job easier.

As these cars continue to age, repairing hinges or replacing with NOS parts will be increasingly difficult. I found a lot of posts about replacing the hinge pins. I started with the idea that I would do just that and ordered a hinge pin removal tool from eBay and eventually got my hinge pins out, it was a serious pain in the ass. Then I bought first oversize pins and the reamer from WW, only to find that my hinges must have been done previously and I needed another size up. Ordered the next size pins/reamer and I thought it worked but upon installing the new pins, the hinge still was very loose. After looking at the available information on TheSamba and elsewhere I had the impression that hinge replacement was going to be a miserable experience but I really actually enjoyed it. What I used (one door):

7 1/4-20 x 3/4" Flat head socket cap screws, allen socket drive, stainless steel
7 1/4-20 Serrated flange hex locknuts, stainless steel
2 Airtec hinges (upper and lower) from JBugs
Locktite 272 Threadlocker Red
Punch
7/64" and 5/16" drill bits
Drill
Hammer
7/16" socket
7/16" box end wrench
3/8 drive HF torque wrench
3" extension
10" inch extension

Upper hinge:

Screws:

Nuts:

1968 Beetle door with shot hinges:

First I drew "crosshairs" on each rivet to have a better chance of hitting center with my punch be sure you get close to center or you will drill sheetmetal (bad) and centerpunched. Then I drilled pilot holes with my 7/64" drill bit:

Next I used a 5/16" pilot point bit. Do not use a high drill speed, go slow and let the bit do the work. Check often to make sure what you are drilling is rivet and not sheetmetal!:

I drilled all four rivets until the heads of the rivets popped off onto my drill bit then I used a dull punch (not my centerpunch) to tap the remaining rivet out of the holes:

Now the hardest part of the whole process, I beat the old hinge out with the punch and a hammer. The door metal is depressed into the hinge and makes it a bit difficult to remove:

If you get the Airtec hinges, they are manufactured with the hinge pin flush with the top of the hinge. This needs to be fixed or you will end up with water collected on top of the hinge pin. My hinge pin removal tool turned out not to be a waste of money after all, I used it to push the hinge pin down so that I can fit the oil cap in the top of the hinge. Before:

After:

I tapped the new hinge in using a wood block and hammer. Don't hammer directly on the hinge with the hammer or you may damage it or at least make it ugly.

Now came the part that was described as generally horrible: installing the nuts and bolts. I found a way to make it easy and hopefully this helps you. Make sure you remove the door stop to make room for the wrench and your hand. I did research on locking nuts and found that serrated flange nuts were actually superior to nyloc nuts. They don't require a washer (do not use a washer!), they lock in place via their serrations, and they do not fall down into the socket or wrench! My regular 3/8 drive ratchet was too short and I couldn't get my fat hand in to start the nuts so here's what I did. I had an old, cheap ($20) Harbor Freight torque wrench that is longer than my regular ratchet. I put a 3" extension on it with my socket and it easily reached all four bolt holes!

I put my locknut in the socket and added a drop of 272 Loctite just to be safe. Then I was able to easily get my wrench and hand into place. I used my allen wrench to thread the bolts into the nuts:

I snugged them all down and then went back and tightened them all down for good!

The bottom hinge is easier. I had to do the same process to drive the pin in to make room for the oil cap on the lower hinge. I have the hinges for the passenger side and the pins are in the right place thankfully.

Drill the rivet in the interior side of the door and punch it out on the upper hinge. Drill ONE of the two side rivets and punch it out. I drilled all three and the hinge popped loose making me bend my door skin a bit when I punched the rivets out. The hinge will not come out with the old rivets still in the hinge as there is not enough of a gap. I will do it as I described here when I do the other door. The lower hinge comes out easy! No beatings required! In fact, I got going on it and totally forgot to take pictures of the removal ugh.
The installation is a little different than the upper hinge but uses the same principle. For the interior screw, a socket will not fit so you will use a box end wrench:

For the two on the side of the door I used my 3/8 torque wrench and a 10" extension.

This process was much easier than I expected and I hope this helps someone!
_________________
'69 Beetle (pieces)
Learning the hard way is still learning...

[type4split]

nice documentation
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'67 deluxe bus w/the little windows
'52 beetle
'55 convertible
'50-something convertible (*need ribbed 'vert quarter panel )
'63 "milo" beetle
Part, parts and more parts

[clockworkbox]

Thanks!
_________________
'69 Beetle (pieces)
Learning the hard way is still learning...

[tcracing]

Thanks for the write up! I had to replace a frozen hinge and this made it super easy!
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66' Sedan

[clockworkbox]

[clockworkbox]

Update:
Three of the 4 Airtec hinges from JBugs were good but I had to return the lower left hinge twice because of binding due to poor QC. If you buy JBugs hinges, make sure you check them carefully before installing. Also, on the upper right hinge, I had the socket get stuck between the door skin and the nut on one bolt. If this happens, you can just tap the socket side to side a few times and it will pop free.
_________________
'69 Beetle (pieces)
Learning the hard way is still learning...

[Kafer_Mike]

Good write-up. Thanks for sharing.
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Kafer_Mike
Build 'em fast...or let 'em sit.

[GjMan]

Good info, great pics. I'll probably be doing this job soon.

[benntn]

Just wondering if attempting to remove the pins would be better to try then replacement hinges? I know removing the pins isn't any easier either, but using aftermarket hinges verses new pins and not having to disable the whole doors seems like the best route. Thoughts?

[clockworkbox]

[jester173]

On my 69 door, the hinge rivets are out, but the hinge doesn't just pull out. There's a plate on the rivet side that the holes in the skin are larger than the screw head. Big trouble in sight. Did you encounter any of this. The plate seems to be attached to the hinge

[clockworkbox]

If you look at the 9th picture down, you can see how the divots in the metal where the rivets were are holding your hinge in. I used a punch as shown to pound the hinges out of the door. This was the hardest part of the job. A cold chisel would also work, just be careful not to hit the door. I had to hit them pretty hard but they came out eventually.
_________________
'69 Beetle (pieces)
Learning the hard way is still learning...

[jester173]

yup rivets are out! I can't figure out how to upload a picture.

[jester173]

I found a problem with removing the hinges. The sheet metal has been extruded to match the counter sinks in the hinge for location. They don't just pull out. Now this replacement has become complicated.