Fulvia Seat Hinges 1

My seat hinges were in such a bad state that taking them apart and possibly destroying them and having to buy others didn't really matter. They need to come apart so that they can be re-chromed.
Take lots of photos of the process - helpful sorting the order of rebuilding. There are lots of washers and spacers. The hinge with the release lever is more complicated than the one without the lever. Taking them apart is a very similar process
I removed the inner cover and grabbed the hooked end of the spiral spring (photo 1) with pliers and lifted it away from the stop.
There isn't much tension in the spring in this position so not as scary as it might seem. After removing the outer black plastic centre cover, I ground the peening off of the central shaft with my Dremel, just enough so that I could remove the cupped washer and then the larger hinge leaf. See 2nd photo also showing how I drilled and tapped a hole so that I could bolt it all back together later.

The cage that holds the bush and rubber for the transfer shaft between the hinges needs to have the rivets drilled so that can be removed. Take lots of photos of the position of all the bits and pieces. The hinge with the release handle needs to have the rivet end ground off of the inside so that it can be removed. I was able to leave the second lever attached for the chroming process as it is covered by the outer hinge leaf and doesn't need to be perfect. Put the release lever in a vice and gently tap the plastic ball with a hammer to remove it.
The re assembly is fairly easy if you have taken enough photos. The cage for the transfer shaft bush needs to be riveted back in place.(photo 1) Photo 3 shows the order of the bits for the non-lever hinge.

Add grease to all of the moving parts including the gears in both halves. I also pressed grease into the spiral spring as it seems to rub on itself in places when the hinges operate. There is a punched mark, in photo 1, on the top LHS of the transfer shaft drive. I don’t think it makes any difference where the mark is, as long as both hinges in a pair have their marks facing in the same direction. This lets the transfer shaft slide onto both drives without changing the angle of one hinge. Both hinges have to be in the fully forward position. Replace the inner protection cover.
The above assembly steps must be used again on the release lever hinge, but add the following as well. All the pieces for the hinge are shown in order of assembly in photo 4.

The release lever needs to be manoeuvred into position under the second lever. See photo 5.

5 also shows the final positions of the workings. The release lever pivot had the remaining piece of rivet ground off. I drilled and tapped right through the pivot to take a bolt and fender washer from the inside. Remember the cup washer under the head of the pivot. I peened the end of the bolt once installed to keep it in place. Photo 6.

After greasing everything, the two halves can go back together. Remember to align the punched mark on the end of the transfer shaft drive the same way as the other hinge. Photo 7 shows the bolt and fender washer to hold the whole lot together.

There is a small protrusion inside the black plastic centre cap that I needed to remove to enable the cover to fit properly. The small spring goes between the small hole in the top RHS of photo 5 to the punched eye in the outer hinge leaf. The bigger spring’s small side goes over the pin on the end of the release lever and the larger end over the notched tang on the inside of the inner leaf.

keith, this is mindboggling, my deepest respect:)