On Thu, 26 Oct 1995, Jay Tilton wrote:
> Some time back, I lost one of the screws that secure a corner bracket. I
> found it today, and I'd like to get it back on before I lose it again.
>
> Normally, I'd just press on a spire nut and forget it. The problem is, the
> bracket is at the hinge-side of the trunk. There's no access to the back of
> the hole because of the big structural member. I guess when the rack was
> installed they just twisted the screws into the sheetmetal and left it.
> Now, however, the holes are slightly larger than they used to be (as my
> little brother would say, "wallered out") and the screws can't grab anymore.
>
> About the only solution I can think of is to fill the holes with some goop,
> let it harden, then replace the screws, but what sort of goop would work
> best? Is epoxy good enough, or does there exist some filler material
> specifically designed for this?
>
> Or is there a better/easier solution I'm completely missing, like getting
> somebody to weld up the hole and re-drill? The chromed piece will cover a
> good bit of the underlying body metal, so all but the grossest cosmetic
> flaws would be acceptable.
>
> Got my Dremel warmed up. (Wish I had a set of Posi-drives.)
>
> TIA!
> --
> Jay Tilton / jtilton@vt.edu (vt = Virginia Tech vt <> Vermont)
> Home page: http://fbox.vt.edu:10021/J/jtilton/index.html
> MGB page: http://fbox.vt.edu:10021/J/jtilton/mg/jaysmg.html
> (I'll update my pages one of these days.)
>
>
Well, if the head of the screw does not show, I would replace it with a
pop rivet. If the head *does* show, you have to be more creative. There
are gadgets sort of like mollie bolts, used to make threaded holes in
sheet metal. They are commonly used to make threaded holes to attach
large mirrors to the doors of pickups. You might be able to find one that
your screw will fit into, or find a chrome or stainless machine screw that
would fit into one of these things and replace the sheet metal screw it
apparently came with. Finally, I would consider cutting a strip of steel
the same thickness as the trunk lid, drilling a hole in the end the right
diameter for the screw, and then pushing the strip between the trunk frame
and the outer sheet metal until the hole in the strip is below the hole in
the outer panel. Install your screw, threading through the wallered out
hole into the new strip. When the rack is secure, bend any protruding
strip back and forth until it breaks off. That should be an invisible
repair. Very devil to remove the rack, but that would be a problem for
some future owner (see, you too can be the dpo).
Ray Gibbons Dept. of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics
Univ. of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT
gibbons@northpole.med.uvm.edu (802) 656-8910
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