Is there a way to remove the trunk hinges from the body. The arm appears to be riveted to the body. Can this be removed without pooping the rivet or drilling the spot welds on the bracket that holds the hinges to the body. Or am I overlooking something. I need to strip the paint off and it would be much easier if they were off the car. Any suggestions.

I did this too. One on each arm. What I did is use a half inch drill bit and drill the inner side of the rivet/pin off. Then I took a punch and hammer and popped it out. There is a hole in the middle where the original rivets were flared out. I drilled them flush then when I re-installed them I welded a bead around the left over lip and filled the hole. Stronger than original, but will be hard to ever remove again.

I had to remove mine due to a bad/worn hinge pin. These are the pins/rivets I am talking about.

Good luck

I've seen vice grips used to clamp the arm to the bracket. This would eliminate the need to remove and reinstall.