Larryjb -
Your picture shows an acorn nut. If you unscrew and remove the acorn nut, you will see the threaded end of a bolt. The bolt goes through the entire wall. With the shell up, you can push the bolt through the wall and out the other side. You will see that most of the length of the bolt is smooth and unthreaded, suggesting a hinge pin function. It passes through an item called a "pocket stop", which is inside the wall. The pocket stop (which is adjustable, do a Search here on the Forum) is what limits the travel of the shell as you open it.
I think (but I do not know) that the deformation you are seeing comes from opening the shell too vigorously, so that it slams against the pocket stop at the end of its travel.
Getting the bolt back into the hole may require pushing a screwdriver through the hole, and then jockeying it around to line up all the parts.
Bill
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