Alfa Romeo Spider - Convertible Top Latch Pins
I wrote this article in 1998. Your car and experience may be different, so proceed with caution at your own risk.
Tools needed:
Elec. Drill
1/8” drill bit
9/64” drill bit
1/8” x “Tension Pin”
Small Punch
Small hammer
Channel lock pliers
Now that the weather is turning more foul, it may be necessary to put the top up. Convertible top latch pivot pins that are intact are essential to ensuring the top stays fastened to the windshield frame. The pins also keep the latch mechanism together when the top is down.
Recently, after finishing a drive with the top down, I noticed one of my latch handles lying behind the back seat, with a broken pivot pin and spring nearby. These could have easily vibrated off and gone over the deck lid and onto the road behind me while driving. Note that I have latch straps, and they were not enough to prevent the latch handle from coming adrift. Apparently, one side of a pin will shear off, and the long side will work its way out, allowing the latch handle to come off.
To repair a broken pin, one could by a new complete latch ($60 at IAP to $90 at Alfa Ricambi), a used latch, or replace the broken pin.
The “Tension Pin” is cigar/cylinder shaped and is hollow in the center, with beveled tips and a long slot all the way down the length, to allow the pin to be compressed into the correct sized hole. The pin is made of steel, and appears to be as strong for this application as the original pins. I found a bin full of the right sized pins at the corner “ACE True Value” hardware store.
To replace a broken pin:
1) Remove the loose broken pin, lift handle away from convertible frame, and use a small punch and hammer to tap out the leftover peened piece of pin from the inside out of the handle.
2) Use a 1/8” drill bit and carefully drill to “clean up” the existing handle holes (they are already very close to the 1/8” size).
3) Using a 9/64” drill bit, carefully drill/clean-up the holes in the “fork” portion of the latch that is still attached to the convertible frame (this fork goes on the inside portion of the latch/handle). The slight oversize allows movement/pivot of the handle on the fork when the pin is in place.
4) Using a small hammer, gently tap in the 1/8” dia. X ¾” long “Tension Pin” into one of the outside tab handle pin holes ( the handle is lying on its side for this procedure), until the pin is flush with the inside of the tab.
5) Assemble the handle to the fork, with the spring in place, and while holding the assembly in a way that will allow access use the channel lock pliers (in a wide position) to squeeze the tension pin through the fork holes and spring, all the way through to the outside of the other handle tab hole. One jaw of the channel lock pliers is on the outside tab where the pin will eventually end up, while the other jaw is on the tip of the tension pin. I used a light oil on the pin to assist the pin movement through the outer tabs.
The pin felt nice and snug as it was being pressed through the outer tabs, and just enough play is allowed with the fork that there is no binding of the mechanism. There does not appear to be any way the pin can vibrate out as it appears to be snug enough in the tabs. The pin will be nearly flush on the outside of each handle tab when fully pressed in.
If you need to remove the “Tension Pin”, as I had to to place the spring in the correct position, just use the original broken pin and use the channel lock pliers in a suitable place (reverse of the position used to press the tension pin in) to press the tension pin back out the way it was pressed in - so don’t throw the old broken pin away (makes a suitable “tool” for replacement of these tension pins if needed, and will save time fashioning a nail to fit).
The whole procedure took 15 minutes, and cost me 10 cents for the replacement pin. Now, when the top is down you don’t have to let that latch handle rattle around back there with the fear that it will vibrate itself off the car and into obscurity. With the top up, there is less risk of the top frame going “Boing” up into the wind.