> Date: Fri, 29 Jan 1993 09:45:43 CST
> From: "Andrew C. Green" <dlogics!hermes.dlogics.com!acg@uunet.UU.NET>
> To: british-cars@autox.team.net
> Subject: Re: grommets
>
> upholstery clips and so on. On the other hand, a lot of electrical parts and
> related fittings such as grommets are electrical-industry standard, not just
> automotive standard. Consequently a well-stocked electronic supply store may
> well have a huge assortment of little oddball fittings, which will allow you
> to buy just the grommet you need, and also feel silly during the drive home
> as you think about how much petrol you burned up just to obtain one little
> piece of black rubber. :-)
>
Unfortunately (at least around here), this doesn't seem to be the case.
Some of you old time list members may recall my grommet quest a few
months back. I was looking for replacements for the grommets that serve
as rubber pads on my snake's brake and clutch pedals. Cobra parts
suppliers get $5 apiece for them and since four are required I was
highly motivated to find a suitable substitute. I hit all of the local
hardware and auto parts stores first and then HP lab stock. Nada. I
reasoned, as Andy did, that an electronics supply store would have a
wider selection to choose from. What I found was the same limited
assortment of overpriced packets I had found at the hardware stores I'd
tried. I even tried an RV supply place with no better luck. Someone
sent me a catalog of a company in Pennsylvania called Restoration
Specialist, but in spite of their fairly large grommet inventory they
had nothing in stock close enough in size to use as a substitute.
Finally I bit the bullet and ordered a set of OEM pedal grommets from
Vintage Motorsports in El Cajon, CA. In the mean time, I got the bright
idea of making my own so I ordered some RTV molding rubber from
Eastwood. This stuff consist of two liquids that supposedly hardens
into a medium soft black rubber when mixed. There was probably enough
in one batch to make a hundred or so grommets. When I opened the two
cans, I noticed that both liquids were completely colorless and clear.
I rechecked the catalog thinking that Eastwood had sent me the wrong
stuff, but black was the only color listed; the only variation was
hardness. To top it off, according to the instructions the two liquids
were carefully premeausred so that the whole batch had to be mixed at
one time. The instructions did go on to say that smaller portions could
be mixed but the ratio of the two liquids was given by weight rather
than by volume with a very small margin of error permitted for proper
reaction. In other words, I would probably need an expensive precision
beam-type scale to weigh such small quantities. Sigh.
Well, I've noticed that some of these "golden grommets" are showing wear
even though the car has hardly been driven since I installed them.
Sigh.
Roland
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