Copter;

You have mail . . . .

Am I on the list to recieve a set? I sure would like to open that hatch.

There is no list at this point.

Here is the status:

I made another set of prototype hinges in a new design and from 1" thick stock. You can see these in the links in this thread. Those are promised to Copter and will be shipping to him in a couple days. I am going over installation details with him at this time. There will be no more hinges from 1" thick stock as they just take too long to make.

I made a new design using 3/4" stock which should be much easier and faster to machine, still be plenty strong and look nice, and would lend itself better to limited production. If the new design proves out and can be made in 6 hours per set, I would consider making a few sets for $300 per set. The material is here to make 4 prototype sets, but for various reasons, this project is on a back burner.

Ariz-Surveyor: I had not planned on making the new prototypes any time soon, but I notice you are in Mesa. My wife's CE has a replacement glass and I would like to have a CE with the original factory glass to check the fit. So if have the original glass and you want the first set of 3/4" prototypes, I will move it up the schedule.

The cost will be $300 and I will help you install them and get everything adjusted and working properly . . note that if your struts are shot, the glass obviously wont open on it's own. The only struts available that I know of are expensive and don't fit the car without some modification, but they do work extremely well and if you want to purchase a set from Eckler's or wherever, I'll help you get them installed along with the new hinges. I would use the opportunity to take a lot of pictures of the whole process to share with our fellow CE lovers.

Let me know what you want to do.

**BY ALL MEANS**
My glass is original. I installed new struts and of course haven't opened the hatch since. I have the email address of the guy I got the struts from. I will find it and post it here. I do recall seeing a message, on this site, from him. Sometime ago.
Are you the guy I purchased the used door panels from? He has 2 CE's also, forgot his name.

Ariz-Surveyor;

OK, I will go ahead and make the 3/4" prototypes and we'll put them on your car. We'll take a bunch of pictures in case a wave of motivation overtakes one of us to write an article about it . . .

It's good that you already have new struts because I checked with Eckler's and they are out of stock.

I am working on 4 new leads on struts though, so the fat lady ain't sung on that yet.

You have my guarantee that we'll have your hatch working perfectly and if the hinges ever stretch . . even a little . . . I'll make you new ones from 4340 steel for free.

Your hinges will be 6061-T6 aluminum and can withstand several thousand pounds of force and at a guess they might see a few hundred combined strut force and accelleration depending on how much that glass weighs . . . . anybody know?

Nope, not me . . . only thing I've sold is the passenger seat (on e-bay).

I've certainly bought quite a few things . . . somehow wound up with 2 spare manifolds . . . . . and most recently a CE rim . . . been looking for that for a while.

Ariz-Surveyor;

Your hinges are ready. e-mail me at:

Hit my web site and e-mail me from there.

www.thecubestudio.com

This is what the new design hinges look like.

http://www.thecubestudio.com/pictures/Proto3side.jpg
http://www.thecubestudio.com/pictures/Proto3pair01.jpg

I am waiting for some spacers which should be here in a day or so. Let me know your availability for installation and whether you want the hinges painted.

Anyone else interested in hinges can look here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... %3AUS%3A31

I would like one for when my original stretch too much to fix. So I will be watching for this. If it does go over my price I will have to decline.

Great to see a good heavy duty non stretch hinge.

Good job too.

_________________
C3VR Lifetime Member # 51
NCM Lifetime Member #1353
Iron82

I found and read some posts about the struts. Someone claims that the factory struts were 75#, but I doubt that. My originals are both at 35# but the damping on one of them is toasted and it will barely extend.

I also saw that the glass weighs about 35#, so it seems unlikely that the factory used 150# of force to open it.

Eckler's are at 60# and slam the glass open too hard for my liking. This may be due to them being installed tube down, but they won't fit the other way.

I've ordered struts with 55# force, normal speed, end damping and I'll adapt them into the CE and sell off my Eckler's struts. I see they have them in stock again, but the picture still shows the struts that don't fit.

This is exactly why nobody ever actually produced hinges. There is a lot of difference between people who will BUY something and who just want to know it is available in case they ever want them.

I went back and found the other threads on hinges and found that one guy was in the process of getting some made when the forum went ahead and started somebody else on the same project . . . maybe to get some competition started to get a lower price? He said he didn't want his time wasted and asked if the forum wanted him to go forward or not. There was no reply.

Well, the same thing just happend to me, and I'm not happy about it. I don't want my time wasted either. That's why the hinges went on the back burner.

The primary purpose of the e-bay listing is not to sell hinges, it is to guage interest in a broader audience. If there is little or no bidding activity, that will be the end of it.

Steve,
I want & need a set of hinges, but I can't afford them yet, (getting the second kid to college is killing me)...

I'm sure I'm not alone with this here, there was allot of interest when the price was $150 then you went to $300 and everyone shied away. Don't take it wrong, just hang onto a set or two, and I'm sure me and a few others will get back to you after we save our milk money up..

The thread you saw on the CFI forum just popped up, and Twin Turbo said he could get them done for allot less then you were, it's tempting to jump on it, but you are the one that pushed this project forward so I didn't send him my CAD file and I will order a set from you at a later date.

After your ebay add ends, just be patient, and I'm sure more of the CE owners will be contacting you. Please post any further progress you have, and any price changes....

_________________
Arizona Corvette Enthusiasts
Gone, but not forgotten

Ok,Steve.I sent the MO off right after we spoke on the phone today.I would like to dissuss the strut supports with you as you seem to be having trouble with yours.The guy I bought my CE from had replaced his.Not sure how long ago but at least two years.I've had the car for 1 1/2 yrs.When I picked the car up he showed me how the window worked.We both agreed at the time that they were a little too strong but not strong enough to cause to much worry.We both figured that use would cure that.For the life of me I can't remember where he got them from.They look correct but there the only ones I've seen.What I'm wondering about is when I take them loose will they spring back and maybe do some damage.I think he said he got them from Ecklers because I remember he paid a lot more than the ones you get from stores like Auto Zone ect.Just the generic ones that most cars have for their hoods ect.Being that they are at least 2 yrs old do you think those are the correct ones.Let me know what you have so I can compare mine.I went by to see my Vette today but it was in the paint booth.Supposed to be ready tomorrow

In the struts thread on this forum a fellow said he got the Eckler's struts quite some time ago and they look exactly like the original struts. The struts that Eckler's is selling now are just generic struts that are the correct extended length, but nothing else about them is right and they don't fit.

If you got a pair from Eckler's long enough ago, they would be the reproductions, but I can't say when they made the change. There is a company on e-bay that specializes in gas struts (they are actually called air springs) and I contacted him about the CE struts. He came back with the correct extended and compressed length and said he could special order them at $150 a pair.

The problem is that on the original strut the ball socket on the tube end is extended 2-1/4" away from the end on a special .4" dia stud. This allows it to fit in the very tight space where the latch resides.

The Eckler's that I bought do pop the glass open briskly, but there is little or no damping and the glass sort of slams open, which I don't like. So I special ordered 4 struts from a manufacturer to play with. The fellow who bought the 3rd prototype hinge set said he already has new struts. So if I get the new struts adapted in successfully, you can have the second set if you want them. We'd be talking les than $100 for the pair.

Ok.Let me now about the struts.I'm interested.If they work right I'll buy a pair.