Dust shield replacment - Staples
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 272
Likes: 1
From: North Carolina
Dust shield replacment - Staples
I need some help. My dust shields on my 64 were roached. I bought new ones for the wheel house front. They came with staples. Question..... how does one get the new staples stapled through the rubber and then fiberglass? This one has me stumped?????
Clint
Clint
Team Owner
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 54,135
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From: Sitting in his Nowhere land Hanover Pa
2024 C2 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2015 C2 of Year Finalist
use a small dril bit. mark were the staples go, then drill. insert staples bend over easy as that
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 272
Likes: 1
From: North Carolina
ahhhhh, that makes sence. The old staples are still in the wheel houses. I guess I could use some long welding vise grips to hold the shield in place when I drill out the rubber through the holes in the fiber glass where I removed the staples.
Thanks!
Thanks!
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 769
Likes: 1
From: Henderson MI
If it is possible, it is a two person job, at least for me anyways....
Much much easier of someone else can hold them in place and you drill the hole.
I tried the welding vice-grip way and the rubber would squirt and wiggle around, just could not get it held where I wanted.
A friend of mine came by and held them in place and with his help I think both sides were done on my 66 in about 4 hrs.
Took two of us to do the staple thing, he held an anvil (piece of steel) aginst the staple head and I first got them sort-a bent in place with pointy nose pliars and then I took a small hammer to finish getting them flat onto the surface.
I was also able to actually use the original holes in the fiberglass which ment I only had to punch a hole through rubber with a 1/16 drill bit and this too I liked as it kept the staples fairly uniform around the opening.
my .02¢
Chuck
Much much easier of someone else can hold them in place and you drill the hole.
I tried the welding vice-grip way and the rubber would squirt and wiggle around, just could not get it held where I wanted.
A friend of mine came by and held them in place and with his help I think both sides were done on my 66 in about 4 hrs.
Took two of us to do the staple thing, he held an anvil (piece of steel) aginst the staple head and I first got them sort-a bent in place with pointy nose pliars and then I took a small hammer to finish getting them flat onto the surface.
I was also able to actually use the original holes in the fiberglass which ment I only had to punch a hole through rubber with a 1/16 drill bit and this too I liked as it kept the staples fairly uniform around the opening.
my .02¢
Chuck
Le Mans Master
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 7,246
Likes: 21
From: Going too fast over the hill. Iowa
Not caring about being judged, I got small stainless screws (I like stainless) and fenderwashers and screwed one set of them into one of each pair of staple holes. Let the next owner screw with staples (pun intended). 
Over the years I replaced the dust shields 3 or 4 times. It's so easy with screws.
Over the years I replaced the dust shields 3 or 4 times. It's so easy with screws.
Instructor
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 216
Likes: 0
Don't throw the old staples away if you still have them. I found that the new staples that came in the kit were extremely poor quality and broke when bent. So we ended up reusing the old ones.
Maybe they sold you better staples. . . .
Maybe they sold you better staples. . . .
Safety Car
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 4,424
Likes: 619
From: northern CA
If the staples that came with the replacement dust shields are the stainless steel type these are much harder to bend over and stake in place than the original soft metal staples. You can reuse the old staples after straightening them out with needle nose pliers. Once the dust shield is set (with the first staple to hold it in place) and using the old staple hole as a guide you can drill the other staple holes through the dust shield by peeling back the dust shield lip just enough to expose the inner fender staple hole to line up the drill bit for drilling through the dust shield.
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Michael S. Palmer
Team Owner
Joined: Feb 2003
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From: Sitting in his Nowhere land Hanover Pa
2024 C2 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2015 C2 of Year Finalist
Originally Posted by JohnZ
The stainless staples that come with the new shields are a PITA to work with; I make my own from 16-ga. galvanized steel wire (hardware store item).
that is what my father used when I helped him
Advanced
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 84
Likes: 0
From: Lake Zurich IL
I took the old staples out of the old shields. I laid the old shields on top of the new ones and drilled new holes using the old shields as a guide.
You'll note that the old staples don't have a uniform "u" shape like the replacement staples (I got mine from LIC) do so I made a little jig to re-bend the new staples so they lined in in the old holes in the fender. you might be able to reuse the old staples but they will be harder to bend.
Then I pushed the new staples thru the rubber and with the help of the wife we lined them up with the old holes and while I pressed on the staple she bent it over inside the wheel well.
It went pretty fast after I made the jig to re-bend the staples.
I might have the jig yet, I could take a picture.
You'll note that the old staples don't have a uniform "u" shape like the replacement staples (I got mine from LIC) do so I made a little jig to re-bend the new staples so they lined in in the old holes in the fender. you might be able to reuse the old staples but they will be harder to bend.
Then I pushed the new staples thru the rubber and with the help of the wife we lined them up with the old holes and while I pressed on the staple she bent it over inside the wheel well.
It went pretty fast after I made the jig to re-bend the staples.
I might have the jig yet, I could take a picture.
Safety Car
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 4,142
Likes: 704
Anybody have any ideas how the factory put these staples on? This has perplexed me for years.I am thinking 'giant stapler' but it had to have some kind of backing plate to bend the staples over. Even steel bodied cars have the same staples, so it must have been a very heavy duty piece of machinery.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 2,740
Likes: 4
From: Marblehead MA
Originally Posted by buns
Anybody have any ideas how the factory put these staples on? This has perplexed me for years.I am thinking 'giant stapler' but it had to have some kind of backing plate to bend the staples over. Even steel bodied cars have the same staples, so it must have been a very heavy duty piece of machinery.
Team Owner
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 38,897
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From: Washington Michigan
Originally Posted by achapman
Your're right it was a heavy duty piece of machinery. I remember seeing a picture of it, it looked like an oversized air powered stapler with a roll of wire that was feed into the machine. It "punched" a hole through the rubber and into the fiberglass. I'll see if I can dig out a photo of it.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 2,130
Likes: 1
From: mesa,az
i just taped the shields to the fender with aluminium tape. made a pattern from paper, drilled the holes with a dremel. pushed the staples thru and bent them over. wasn't that hard or time consuming.
Instructor
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 227
Likes: 0
From: Marysville WA
I glue the new ones on with black trim adhisive then back drill through the original holes, pop the new staple through using a vice grip and bend them over using a bucking bar on the rubber side and a hammer in the wheel wells. One person can do this easily.
