Has anyone here fabbed up their own #4 body mount reinforcement? I need to replace both of mine. Post pics.

 

bump

 

They are cheap to buy, I debated on bending and welding some for myself a few months back but at $35each I figured why bother spending the time.

 

I know from Scott's posts that he is like me ... make it rather than buy it.
However, this one is cheaper to buy ... did both of mine.

 

Coupe or vert?

Much cheaper to buy. Most places you get it from will require you to do a little bending and adjusting to get it to fit perfectly. Think I got mine from Volunteer vette a while ago...someone posted recently not to order from there so be careful.

I have a vert and needed to make an inner lower reinforcement to weld the cage nut to. Here's what i did...






My original #4 lower reinforcement was rusted out and the bushing broke thru the fiberglass...

 

Since we're talking body mount #4. My fiberglass has been compressed downward around #4. The glass has started to buckle around the sides of the mount. So I have to rebuild the glass. Any special issues I'll face working on this area?

 

The fiberglass started to buckle where? around the bushing or around the entire walls of the mount itself?
If just the bushing then once you put the new lower reinforcement on it shouldn't be much of an issue except you now have to figure out a way to anchor the cage nut, which is why i built the inner pocket reinforcement. My inner pocket reinforcement also distributes the pressure evenly on the entire mount pocket instead of just the inch by inch at the very bottom of the pocket where the cage nut would sit alone. I did not repair my hole in the fiberglass since with a vert it is a major PIA to work around the hatch reinforcement tower.

If your body is collapsing around the entire #4 pocket then I would worry something serious happened to your car...whether it flipped over in an accident, stacked in a junkyard or was used as a pickup truck. It would take a lot of weight on the back to collapse the fiberglass body around the pocket. Regardless, i would fab up a lower reinforcement that extends all the way up and under the body so it not only supported the pocket but also the body around the pocket. This would require you to lift the body to install. I barely had enough room to installed the stock lower reinforcement around the pocket with the body on. Pics would be helpful.

 

Nice flat pattern work, hats off to you! With the '76, the #4 glass was a bit sunken around the captured nut but all I did was grind it out and layed in some mat with epoxy resin before installing the new #4 mounts.
I skipped the captured nut and used a large flat washer and stainless nyloc nut.

 

NJ68Conv454, I'll take pictures then try to find out how to post them. The area is around the pocket mount itself. I know this car was is an accident. Thanks for you help.

 

No prob. A pic is worth a thousand words. So true.
I use www.photobucket.com Its free and you can create albums.
I have a bunch of albums of my restoration process, if you get on there search "doogiePBJ" and you can thumb thru my pics. I even have a album called "body mounts".
Once you upload ur pics off ur computer click in the bottom link box under the uploaded picture, then just paste it in your thread.

 

Installation tips:

Forget the rivets. I used 3/16" stainless pop rivets on my first one.
Then a member clued me in ... USE 1/4" STAINLESS BOLTS. I chose
button heads ... came out great ... and EASY.

Use plenty of adhesive between the steel and fiberglass.
Do not rely on the rivets or bolts alone to hold it tight.
Make it "one" with the body.

 

i used polyurethane construction adhesive found at home depot
Looks like the same that NHvette used and painted it black

 

Hey .. only the GOOD polyurethane adhesive.
I was gonna ask what you used ... hard to make out in pic.
PL4000 ... good stuff.
I also use the polyurethane roof sealer to seal around the birdcage.

 

Made mine and would do it again in a heartbeat.

 

Yes sir. PL4000 it was. That stuff is amazing. Good idea with the birdcage, i was looking for something to seal my wiper valley incase there were any small cracks that could leak thru.
I'll give that roof sealer a shot this friday.

 

Bolts instead of rivets? Interesting,..do tell. Were nuts used on the other side?...(sounds tricky). Size?..1/4" x ?

Thanks!

 

Not exactly sure on the length I used. 3/4" shoudl be enough ... maybe even 1/2".

For those who want it, here is my archived thread on this job.
Send me an email to request a zip file with the missing pictures.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/showthread.php?t=872065

Scratch that email request. The zip file with all the pics from the above link
are right here:
http://webpages.charter.net/davekimt...ges/4mount.zip
Match the pic names with the properties of the red Xs.



Here is the "update" from the second one I did ... looks like I used 3/4" long bolts.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1050960
Pics from this thread are not handy. I will look for them this weekend.

The nuts (and washer and lock washer) are easier to get on than it is
to hold a backer washer on the rivet and pull the rivet without
knocking the backer washer off. Having done it both ways ... bolts are easier.

 

I had mine fabbed by a CNC punch profiling company (freeby)
3mm steel with a drain hole (hope it helps)



if anyone wants the drawings I did .. or the solid models just shout

 

I had to bring this back to the front because now i'm doing it!! NHVette, I couldn't download any pics of this prossess from your post...it keeps cramping my computer. you have another way of viewing it?

 

Not sure why it's getting cramped ... female computer ?
Email sent.