Reading through the Hatch Alignment 101 Complete Repair thread has got me thinking about finally getting my own hatch sorted out. I have two complete rear hatches - one from my car (91 Z28) and one from a parts car (90 RS). They both have flaws and will need paint, so I'm trying to figure out the best way to get a single good hatch for the car with the minimum amount of risk and effort. I'll keep the second one as a spare, I know these are getting hard to find.

The Z28 hatch has surface rust on the metal frame surrounding the glass and the deck lid will need to be painted. The high rise spoiler is still intact but I'll need to remove it for painting. There's a tint on the glass that has been partially removed, and I'd need to get the rest off without damaging the defroster and then reapply (IMO the rear hatch glass needs a tint to keep the sun out). The alignment on this hatch was spot on when I removed it, and since I'm reusing my factory hinges I assume it will still be good on reinstall.

The RS hatch doesn't have any rust on the glass frame, and it's got an existing tint in great shape. Defroster still works fine. The RS wing is damaged and I'd want to retain the high rise wing anyway. I'm not certain if this hatch will align with my car as it came off a different vehicle.


I see this going one of three ways:

1. Swap the Z28 deck and wing onto the RS glass. This will make it easier to paint everything since it will all be disassembled, but I've seen a lot of horror stories (broken glass, alignment issues, tons of time wasted). This may be faster, but it seems risky.

2. Drill the RS deck to accept the Z28 high rise wing. I'm comfortable drilling new holes and filling the old ones if needed - is that all there is to it? Seems like this might be the safest and fastest option, but I'd have to check the alignment first.

3. Refurbish the Z28 hatch (I'd need to sand and paint the metal around the glass, remove the old tint, add new tint, and partially disassemble the deck and remove the high rise spoiler for paint). This seems like the most time intensive option, but I'm not sure it's really any safer since I'll be handling the hatch a lot.


I'm thinking option 2 at this point assuming the alignment is good. I can make a template from the Z28 deck for any holes I need to drill. If the alignment isn't good, I'm leaning towards option 3. Any thoughts? Am I worrying too much about the durability of the rear hatch glass?

If pictures would be helpful let me know, I'm going to dig both hatches out later tonight. Thanks in advance for any input!