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Some of you may have followed the original thread. https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...r-rebuild.html . This is a follow up to the original thread but this time I'll be replacing the broken fiber board with plastic. I'll be posting this thread in steps as I proceed. A lot of steps from the original thread will be followed to complete these visors. I'm going to omit a lot of steps since they are on the original thread and just post the major differences. I rebuilt both visors at the same time. Make sure you mark left and right parts. They are assembled as a mirror of each other. It's easy to make a mistake.
After opening the visors I discovered the hardboard was broken and the inside of the cardboard the fabric was attached to was written on. This led me to believe these were aftermarket and not OEM visors. The board was definitely thinner or weaker fiber board than OEM, the same 1/8" board available at home centers. It's probably the reason why they broke near the hinge. I removed the staples and drilled out the rivets to separate the fiber board from the hinge.
This is a view of the broken fiber board. Although the hinge is from the LH side and the bottom piece is from the RH side; you still get the idea of what happened. I think it broke because the visor is hard to swing down which added stress to the aftermarket fiber board which couldn't withstand the repeated stress on it. In this view you can see the staples and rivets holding the hinge on.
I transferred and traced the old fiber board to some 1/8" nylon MDS I bought from the local plastic shop. I used a jigsaw, die grinder with both a cut-off wheel and a grinding cone, bench grinder, and file to shape the plastic to the original shape. I removed the staples from the hinge and drilled out the staple holes with a 1/8" drill and I drilled the black spring clip holes with a 3/16". Although I didn't take a picture; I placed the plastic in the hinge, then clamped it with vise grips then drilled the holes through the hinge and plastic at the same time. Note: Adjust the new board to fit in the hinge in the exact same position as the old one was before drilling holes.
The mirror still had some of the studs on them so I used the old fiber board as a template. I held the old board onto the new one with vise grips and drilled out the holes with a 1/8" drill. I followed up the 1/8" holes with a larger drill to make it easier for the mirror studs to slip into. Be careful drilling the holes, it's easy to be slightly off which won't let the mirror studs line up. The two top holes were on the broken piece so when I drilled those holes they did not line up with the mirror studs.
The mirrors are installed to check the fit of the studs. I did have to trim the ends of the studs a little due to the tip being a little mushroomed from the original OEM installation. The two top mirror holes are slotted to fit the mirror to the plastic.
This is a picture of the passenger side. I didn't need to drill the top mirror stud holes because the studs were broken off on the mirrors. The rivets are more visible from this side. I put the rod that attaches to the windshield frame in and tested the strength of the plastic as I rotated the visor. The nylon MDS is slightly flexible and really unbreakable. I don't think these visors will break where the previous fiber board did.
More to follow...
Last edited by MrRenoman; 06-28-2016 at 12:50 PM.
Reason: Edit
The problem I see using the typical 3 button Homelink that someone else had used in their stock visors is the bulkiness it creates but is hidden quite well with the fabric covering. Using vinyl or leather covering, I would think, might not look as good. Some of the visors I've seen use a Homelink cover that is attached to the outside of the visor and looks almost as large as a pack of cigarettes. I'm wondering if that is the style of Homelink I need if using a vinyl or leather cover. Some of the bulkiness is moved to the outer surface of the visor. Not sure if it would even fit with the mirror attached to the other side. Any comments are appreciated. Here's a pic of the larger Homelink on a visor. I didn't want to steal a pic of the leather visors I've seen with the Homelink but you can get an idea of what they look like.
The view of this visor is for illustration purposes only. The mirror is sitting on the inside of the visor in order to illustrate the amount of room there is between the mirror edge and the visor edge. The open space between the mirror and the vertical edge of the visor on the left side is the space I have to install a Homelink.
Here is a link with pictures that helped me out when I did this mod. Picked up the homelink unit off the famous auction site for $8.00. Local upholster charged me $5 to stitch up the visor.
Here is a link with pictures that helped me out when I did this mod. Picked up the homelink unit off the famous auction site for $8.00. Local upholster charged me $5 to stitch up the visor.
Mac, I did find this thread very informative, probably one of the best detailing an installation, but was also the reason for questioning it if I was going to cover the visors using vinyl or leather. It seems to add some thickness to the visors and was also the reason for considering using the surface mount which is what I have seen on the aftermarket leather or vinyl ones. I'm kind of leaning toward a surface mount or no Homelink at all unless I use fabric. I noticed you have a coupe...I have a convertible. I rebuilt my visors but didn't make the ends flexible and they work ok. I still can't figure out why the coupes are different than the verts...pillar design?
A few observations while considering adding Homelink.
There is not a lot of room next to the mirror to add the Homelink without making it look bulky when completed.
I bought a Homelink visor from an Audi for $7 at Pick N Pull but it has the larger button bezel that looks like the size of a pack of cigarettes and it looks like the visor from my earlier post. The electronic module appears to be identical to the Homelink that has the smaller oval bezel. I'm still on the lookout at Pick N Pull for the smaller bezel but I might just buy one off of Ebay.
I dismantled the Audi visor in hopes of using some of the internal re-enforcement or mounting system and incorporate it into the plastic boards I made. Doesn't look like it will work unless I not install the mirrors by making new plastic boards that I can use the Audi mounting system on. The mounting system seems to hold the module in place better than just making room for it using the stock style visor board layout and sewing it back together. I'll post some pictures of the Audi visor later.
I may consider making new boards and either:
A: Not install the mirror or mirrors on the visors and add the Homelink so it doesn't appear too bulky near the edge by moving it inward and possibly using the Audi plastic mount or just cut out the plastic so the Homelink is surrounding by plastic preventing it from moving.
B: Install the mirror but move it over toward the center of the car to make more room for the Homelink.
C: Not install the Homelink at all and cover the visors in fabric, vinyl or leather.
I've seen the aftermarket C5 visors with Homelink and it looks like a smaller mirror was used, not sure from what though. Leaves more room next to the mirror. Here's a couple of pics.
06-26-2016, 01:37 AM
DIY Sunvisor Rebuild Part 2 Using Plastic
