John Grotton

If you own a 4th gen, you are more than likely aware of the many quirks that develop with time. 1 common issues is that of the ashtray lid hinge pins breaking.



Hawks Motorsports offers many great replacement parts that look just like OEM.

​https://www.hawksmotorsports.com/98-02-f-body/camaro/interior/consoles-components/

That being said, for you DIY guys who are looking to save a few bucks ($29.90 in this case), here is a cheap solution that will stop that flop and keep that Catfish looking classy.



To begin, remove the portion of center console that houses the ashtray unit. There are many write-ups on this procedure, and YouTube has some easy to follow videos.

Once you have this panel removed set it face down on a soft work surface. This will give you easy access to the ashtray lid hinge pin(s) and spring (hopefully).

Gently remove the ashtray lid spring by manipulating one end of the spring out of its its retaining hole. If you have a broken hinge pin, this is easy. I suggest you remove the spring side hinge pin from it's mooring, by gently squeezing the ashtray tab that holds the hinge pin.

Set the spring aside, DON'T LOSE IT! God help you if you drop it.



With the spring removed, and both hinge pins free from their anchor points, you are now free to remove the ashtray lid.

Replacing the brittle plastic hinge pin is a simple process. In my case, the pin broke off flush, so I just bored a hole in the missing pins location. If your pin did not break off flush, gently cut the remaining portion off with some snips.

Using a bench vice, set the ashtray hinge pin tab centered over a gap in the vice jaws, to allow you to bore a hole through the hinge pins former location.

I used a Dremel and diamond bit, but that's just because it's what I had lying around. A simple file and drill will accomplish the same thing.


Punch/drill/bore a hole through the plastic tab. Be gentle, this plastic is old and brittle.



Now, what to use for a replacement pin? The original pin is roughly 6mm. The Hawks replacement lid I previously purchased had hinge pins that were roughly 5mm.

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(6mm OEM original pin measurement in comparison to the Hawks pin)

The difference in hinge pin sizes is miniscule, and in my case either would have resulted in a still loose fitting ashtray lid. The problem here is, like many things, the F body's interior has grown and changed with time. That GM flavored plastic moves and shifts with heat fluctuation and UV exposure, among many other factors.
​​​​​My solution? Put a longer hinge pin in it.




I chose to use a rivet, both because it is cheap and easy, and again, it is what I had on hand. Feel free to use a small bolt, washers and lock nut. I haven't gone through that process, but I would think it would be relatively similar.

The benefit of the rivet is that it allows you to fasten the rivet tight enough to secure it in the hole made in the previous step (Don't crush the tab by squeezing the hell out of it with the rivet when tightening it. It's old plastic, remember?), but leave the tail of the rivet long to use as your new hinge pin.


Use a bench vise to steady the piece. Be careful! Very easy to crack these pieces, or snap them off completely.

Gently squeeze the rivet until it is firmly set. Be careful it does not crack the tab or pull through.


With a pair of snips, gently cut the excess material off the ball side of the river, not the pin side (you still need that).

At this point I again used the Dremel and diamond bit to remove excess material from the ball side of the river, being careful not to remove too much, as this would cause the rivet to become detached from the tab. Don't worry, you will have a small amount of clearance here, it doesn't need to be flush.

Are you being careful? Super easy to crack these things, can't stress that enough.





As stated before, the OEM hinge pin was 6mm and the Hawks pin was 5mm+. With time my Camaro's interior pieces have shifted and the 5 or 6mm hinge pin would still allow for the lid to become detached halfway through opening it. This probably resulted in the original pin breaking, but that's just speculation. Bottom line, need a longer pin or a shorter distance for the pin to span. I did not see any easily apparent way to draw the two sides of the ashtray housing together, so I opted for the longer pin option.



I measured the pin and marked it at 10 and then 15mm. 10mm for the pin length and a portion left on the end to bed off at an angle to prevent the new hinge pin from easily coming out of the channel.



Use a pair of needle-nose pliers to hold the rivet shaft steady while you cut the shaft with a pair of snips. Be careful not to put pressure on the tab. In hindsight, I would have chosen to use a Dremel cut off wheel instead of the snips. The snips want to twist the rivet when cutting it, this meant really fighting them with the pliers to counter the force.



I had to gently bend the pin to be able to get it aligned with the anchor hole. Had just enough room with a little pushing and prying. Exercise patience and be careful. You've come this far, don't break it now.


Angle the lid and insert the new rivet pin into the anchor hole. You may need to push and flex things a little, be careful.
secure opposite pin



The new pin worked and stayed in tract, the remaining OEM original pin would still slip out of its anchor hole 10% of the time. I decided to put a shim on the opposite side.

OEM original pin still had too much room to move around.

I took a small lock washer and spread it apart far enough that the rivet shaft could fit through the gap.

pinch gap.closed

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