>Tim,
>Are you are referring to the TR6?
No, it's the Spitfire. Sorry I forgot to mention that. I spent
several more hours this morning trying to get the nuts off without
any luck. At first I thought I had it. I was pulling down on a
second (lower) nut at the end of the stud and turning the first nut
with a wrench. Then, just to get a look at what was happening, I let
go of the lower nut and watched as I turned the wrench. If I turned
slowly I could get the upper (stuck) nut to turn without the lower
one turning with it. But after doing that for about 10 minutes I
realized that I wasn't making any progress. The nut is actually
turning on the stud without loosening at all. So it's stripped out
but it just won't loosen up.
Next I tried to get a Dremel up there to cut down the washer. I
think if I do that the studs with the nuts will fit through the slots
in the dash top plate. Before I could finish that I started getting
some back pains. I had spent a couple of hours lying with my back
on the passenger side floor (seat removed) with my head under the
dash and my legs up on the boot lid. So I'll try again tomorrow.
Thanks for the suggestions I've received, but now the problem is
different from what I thought yesterday. I think I'll just have to
cut or grind things until something gives. I hope it isn't me!
Tim
>
>Tim Gaines wrote:
>>
>> I need advice on a couple of problems with my crash pad. I made a
>> series of mistakes that have got me thoroughly depressed and just
>> about defeated. I wanted to replace the crash pad rather than just
>> cover it with a plastic overlay. But, without realizing it, I
>> ordered the overlay. Apparently there is no pad replacement. Well,
>> I didn't catch my mistake until I had already removed the old pad
>> completely. When I discovered that there was no pad replacement in
>> the catalogs, I decided to just use the overlay; it seemed to fit
>> nicely. This morning I tried to reinstall the whole crash pad with
>> the overlay glued on. What a bear of a job! I couldn't get the pad
>> to go in far enough toward the glass or to lay flat enough on the
>> mounting surface. Finally, I used a big C clamp to to pull the pad
>> down far enough to start a nut on one stud bolt that projects down
>> from the metal pad frame through a slot in the mounting surface.
>> After that I was able to get all 6 nuts started, but I still couldn't
>> get the pad pushed in far enough to get the vent slots to align
>> properly. I figured that if I tightened the pad down more, I could
>> then try to force the whole thing back further. In doing that I
>> tightened 2 of the nuts too far and the studs started turning with
>> the nuts. Now the pad is down tight on the mounting surface and
>> cannot be budged. What's even worse is that I can't slacken the
>> 2 nuts because the studs just rotate with them. I think what I need
>> to do is get the damn thing off and then reinsert it at a steeper
>> angle to get it deep enough and THEN try to flatten it out. But,
>> how do I get these nuts off? There is no way to get to the tops of
>> the studs without cutting through the pad down to its metal frame, so
>> how do I hold the studs while I turn the nuts? The only thing I can
>> think of trying is to thread another nut on each stud (there is about
>> 1/4 inch below the first nut), grab the new nut with a vise-grip and
>> pull down hard while I use a wrench on the upper nut. If that
>> doesn't work I'm at a loss. Honestly, I don't think I could get my
>> Dremel tool in the right position to do any cutting under there.
>>
>> So my questions to you are:
>>
>> 1) Is there another way to try to get the nuts off?
>>
>> 2) Assuming I do get the nuts off, what is the best way to get the pad
>> back in place?
>>
>> I would REALLY appreciate any and all advice. But PLEASE don't tell me
>> that I shouldn't have taken the pad off in the first place! Jeez I
>> wish I could get a "do-over" on the whole thing!
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Tim Gaines
>> Clinton, SC
>> 1980 Spitfire
>> 1974 TR6
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