Reply to "2548's Restoration"

Here is an example of one of those dinky little jobs that turns into a real time eater. I wanted a new stainless steel latch pin for the trunk lid.

The original was worn and rust pitted;



I did not take a picture until I had already started to remove the old one. Now if you give a quick look, the pin is welded to a sub-bracket, which is welded to the trunk lid frame. It appears that the pin is spot welded to the sub-bracket at the ends, which it is, and grinding those welds off will free the pin. No, it won't. The pin is welded to the sub-bracket on the inside too. I had to slice through the sub-bracket along the length of the pin to remove it;





Next I tacked in a strip of metal to fill the piece I had to cut out;





This left the ends pretty butchered up;





Two small stainless flat washers were fitted to the ends and welded in place;





A few more spot welds to strengthen the whole affair, and the new pin can be welded in place;





After primer, it looks OK, not great;



It may have occurred to you, as it surely has to me, it might have been easier to cut the old sub-bracket off, pin and all, and make a whole new one. Had I known that the pin was welded on the inside, I probably would have done that.