Patent ID: 7243977

Claim:
A method for assembling a vehicle body liftgate panel with a hinge having at least first and second hinge sets, each hinge set having a first leaf with a first pivot portion and a second leaf with a second pivot portion comprising: aligning said first and second pivot portions along a common axis; inserting a torsion rod into said aligned first and second pivot portions of at least one of said first and second hinge sets; bending a first end of said torsion rod to a return bent position; engaging said first end into fixed engagement with one of said leafs of one of said first and second hinge leafs; and return bending the other end of said rod for retaining a second end of said torsion rod with respect to the other leaf of one of said first and second hinge sets to engage a catch through a limited portion of said path between said open and closed positions.