ANybody ever come up with a fix for the bin lids cheap plastic hinge breaking? Wondering if a piano hinge would work? Surely somebody has done this repair before? Any tips, advise appreciated....

 

Something on my list of things-to-discover at this point. A piano hinge would work, though there's not a lot of 'meat' to attach it to.

It would introduce a small gap, too.

I bought some model-airplane nylon minihinges to play with if I ever get to it, and I know of a material that is essentially a self-adhesive vinyl hinge that comes in rolls, but have never found a retail source for it.

If you work something good out, let us all know and become famous!

 

The gap was my concern with a piano hinge as well....along the lines of your vinyl hinge material..thinking some sort of "tape" with a super aggressive adhesive cut to length and applied to connect lid to bin frame might work. It would basically "replace" the hinge. If I can find such a tape....

 

i just pop riveted small hinges in and it works perfectly fine
i can post pictures of it tomorrow if you would like

 

Before I found a spare lid I used duct tape. Black to blend in, but it held for years. Take the bin apart, as well as the lid. Apply the tape from the underside of the bin lip, folded over onto the "hinge" portion that screws into the bin lid. Once it is back together, you will only ever see 1/16" at most of the tape on the fold because the tape is hidden by the outer cover of the bin. Opening the bin shows nothing either, as the tape is on the outer side.

 

My 1st 2 cars didnt have the hinges working and u didnt mind too much hounestly.. if the seat wasnt forward and i was drivin i cud still get in the bin. This car has the stock ones so i cant do that. u cud hounestly dremel a notch in the plastic to flush mount the little hinge if u dont wana use duct tape.

 

I may have to try that. Didnt think about hiding the tape behind the panels.....good idea, thanks!

 

I have a piece of electrical tape that runs the length of the bin on the inside, no problems.

 

I wonder if that heavy-gauge vinyl tape made for patching vinyl upholstery would be a good choice?

 

On one of my old SE's, (looooong time ago) I used Piano hinge, and it worked fine.

 

my Bins have piano hinges.. and the gap is not noticeable.

 

even easier, take a piece of leather or heavy vinyl, cut to fit and screw though the holes

 

now what about the center peice between the seats...that opens up....how do you fix the back on that one cause mine just broke yesterday.....do i use the tape youve been suggesting for the bins or do i do the hinges instead

 

I installed a small pair of brass box hinges on mine. Only visible when open, & have worked fine for years. The armrest is frequently under side load from people leaning on it or using it when getting in or out, or reaching into the car. It needs a pretty substantial hinge to last.

 

I made new lids out of plywood, put 8" Becker woofers in them then covered with vinyl. Used hinges from the hardware store. Worked great. Added some reinforcement plywood 1" x 1" around the woofer so it wouldn't vibrate so much since it's just a lid not a BOX.

Sounded pretty good too.

 

Pics?

 

My idea for what it is worth

Flexiable cuting boards, they appear pretty durable cut to size and use as hinge,
they come in a bunch of different colors and are inexpensive

Question is how to adhere?

And how will they hold up to uv's?

But crap if they lasted for a couple of years I'd be happy

If anyone tries it before I have time to shoot me a PM and let me know how it worked lol

 

The one good one I had just broke yesterday.

Anyone try painting a different color set? I have some burgundy GSL-SE locking ones, but my interior is black.