Question: Glovebox Hinge

fiatfactory said:

Sitting on the left has always seemed so sinister...

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...and that's why we're so dexterous!

ianlawson said:

Hey, I know - why don't all car drivers in the world drive down the MIDDLE of the road - that makes it fair for everyone! :nuts:

cheers, Ian - NZ

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I take it you have never driven in Arkansas. People here have not quite grasped the concept of the double yellow line. If they are not driving left of center it is usually because two of them have stopped their pickups in the middle of the road to shoot the bull.

Hahaaaaa, hilarious mate!!!

dragonsgate said:

.......I take it you have never driven in Arkansas. People here have not quite grasped the concept of the double yellow line. If they are not driving left of center it is usually because two of them have stopped their pickups in the middle of the road to shoot the bull.......

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Nope, never dared treading into YOUR part of the great US of A.!!
When I was over in your "Great Country" years ago, I seem to recall one of the US guys in our team advising me "hey, don't go near there! That's what we call the great Okeefenokee Swampland - you may never come back from there!" So I took his word!

cheers, Ian - NZ

ianlawson said:

Nope, never dared treading into YOUR part of the great US of A.!!
When I was over in your "Great Country" years ago, I seem to recall one of the US guys in our team advising me "hey, don't go near there! That's what we call the great Okeefenokee Swampland - you may never come back from there!" So I took his word!

cheers, Ian - NZ

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The swamps you speak of are south east of Arkansas on the other side of the Mississippi from us. Other than the river basin Arkansas is fairly civilized although the directions to most peoples houses include the words turn off the paved roads and there are parts of the state where going to a family reunion is an acceptable way to find a future spouse... As for broken glove box hinges I have had three X's and they all had broken hinges. I have a spare dash and the hinge on it has been broken and repaired. The one I have on my daily driver I repaired with a hot blade of wood burning tool and epoxy.

Velcro works fine for me.

I found that on page 17 of Papa Tony's book Frugality 101.:eyepop:
Mike

HAHAHA... Indeed there was... and it wasn't me! nt

..

Old thread but still a current problem.
Anyone come up with a good repair or hack to fix the left side glovebox door hinge??

vespaholic said:

Old thread but still a current problem.
Anyone come up with a good repair or hack to fix the left side glovebox door hinge??

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It depends on what is wrong. There is a hinge plate repair part from MWB: https://www.midwest-bayless.com/Fia...r-loop-left-fiat-bertone-x19-1979-on-new.aspx
A thread from the BOX list:

vespaholic said:

Old thread but still a current problem.
Anyone come up with a good repair or hack to fix the left side glovebox door hinge??

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This is a common problem. The whole glove box lid design is rather poor. The left side hinge is most vulnerable to breaking due to the spring tension on that side. But I've also seen issues with the right side hinge. If nothing else the lid should have hinged downward instead of up. Not only would that eliminate the need for a spring, but it would allow more access to the box, and could even serve dual function as a flat place to rest things (cup holder?).

The later Bertone lids had "improved" hinges. Basically a little beefier. But that did not always prevent damage from occurring. Here's some pics comparing the early vs late 1500 lids hinges:





And a couple pics of the typical failures. As you see the later design (second pic) still suffered issues, just of a different sort compared to the early design (first pic):



As Karl just noted there are "repair kits" available. I believe there are three versions of them. One is basically a metal support plate that is screwed over the hinge area to give it a wider base of support. The other two are more a complete hinge replacement - one plastic and one metal. All work quite well. A couple of the Fiat specialty vendors sell them, although one or more of these examples may have been made by individuals:




But you can easily make your own if you are so inclined. Along the lines of that last example, it is a simple piece made with sheet metal. When I made mine I did it on both hinges. That helps to prevent the right side from any future failures, and it made the repair blend into the lid better (after painting it)....looking more like a part of the original design instead of a patch repair.
This isn't mine, but it is the design I modeled mine after:

A lot of elegant solutions here. Mine was much less sophisticated but works like a charm.

All good!
I shaved off the broken plastic bracket and I fabricated a new one out of some scrap steel.
It was definitely a pain getting it back in with my huge hands but I got it done.
Works like a champ!!
Thanks for the pictures.
Now I’m going to lock the glovebox and forget it’s there.

vespaholic said:

It was definitely a pain getting it back in with my huge hands but I got it done.

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For sure, getting that left side hinge assembly and spring back together into the tight space next to the dash is a real challenge. Hopefully I won't have to do that again.

Glad you got it sorted.