ragtop00

I am missing the threaded plate that the rear door switch screws in to. It's held in with two pop rivets but I can't see how to access the area to replace it. Thanks
Mike

Alan 71

Hi Mike,
Sorry! There is no access!
The access panel that's in the front of the rear wheel well gets you close, but not quite there.
A member posted a cure for a problem similar to yours late this spring... maybe June. I know his real name but can't remember his forum name.
If he doesn't see this thread soon, I'll e-mail him to reply.
Regards,
Alan

ragtop00

Thanks Alan,
That is what I suspected . I would appreciate the work around from your friend. Just a quick additional question. Do you know a vendor for the shoulder harness mounting plates that rivet to the body in the rear wheel well?
Have a Merry Christmas
Mike

Mooser

On the inside of the car, behind the quarter trim there is a few slots that lead into that cavity (where the switch goes from the harness into that plate.)
You might be able to fish a new plate in through there using wires, strings, magnets, the force, etc.

With a bolt or something from the outside, threaded into the switch hole in the plate you could hold it in place and rivet it on.

I can't remember what size thread the switch is but a pop-rivet style of threaded insert with the right thread from the outside would be almost UN-noticable
Here's a link of how they work

http://www.sporttruck.com/techarticl.../photo_05.html

Good luck
Mooser

Alan 71

Hi Mike,
I e-mailed him.
Regards,
Alan

My wife spent a few years in Grand Rapids, (her family is from GR and Holland), and we pass through it each summer on our way to Manistee and the big lake.

ragtop00

Thanks guys!
Mooser, I monkeyed around for about 15 minutes and gave up any hope of wiggling a piece down there. I'm not a surgeon although I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night. I like that threaded nutsert. I'll check if they have the correct size.
Alan, Thanks, I'll wait for your friend to chime in. We moved here from Pittsburgh about 26 years ago. I still love the 'burgh, but this is a special area with our own west coast and up north!
Mike

redrdstr72

Hi Mike. Alan emailed me, telling me that you were experiencing a problem similar to one I developed on my car just 2 weeks before it was to be judged at this past summer's NCRS National Convention. I've copied/pasted a link to the thread where I shared my solution. There are others there too. I can report that to date, my repair is working flawlessly and looks 100% correct.


http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-g...challenge.html

Good luck. Let me know if I can provide additional advice, and for sure let us all know how it turns out.

Best Regards,
don

ragtop00

Thanks Don,
I'll give it a try and let you all know how it turns out. This was a real "headscratcher" for me.
Mike
Alan, Thanks for your help!

ragtop00

Hey Guys,
Thanks for all your great ideas! I decided to use phclub's idea.

Made a bracket from a crossbar for an electrical box. It has 3/16 -24 threads. shaped to fit with rivet holes 1" coc.




Used a wire through the switch hole into the body mount pocket. Hooked the plate, pulled it tight to the backside of the body, aligned the rivet holes and... done!



I'll touch up the rivets later.

Thanks again everyone this forum is great!
Mike

redrdstr72

Glad to hear you found a solution. I attached the link so that you'd see there are several fixes that have been used.

In my case, I had good rivet heads and didn't want to disturb the paint on the rivet heads or the door jambs. If you are OK with replacing and painting them, I think the bracket solution is a more certain fix.

ragtop00

redrdstr72,
I agree with you on keeping the rivets. It would have saved a bit of work but the rivets on the passenger side were missing so I had to deal with touch up anyway.
Thanks again for your help!
Mike

Alan 71

Hi Mike,
All's well that ends well!!!
Regards,
Alan

redrdstr72

Hi all. I was contacted by fellow member MikesRed68 for some help on this issue and I want to help him out. I need your help to help Mike.

See my post (#7), linking to a fix I did on my car in 2011. Where I used a bezel nut and adhesive to make the fix, I think that since then, one of the Corveette vendors has introduced a repair bracket. This bracket looks to be a great fix if the mounting rivets from the original bracket are missing. If they're still in place, I'm thinking that the bracket might possibly be cut down to allow its use without removing and replacing the original rivets.

Can anyone point us to who is making this repair bracket? I'd appreciate it and I think Mike will too!

Thanks in advance,
Don

MikesRed68

Hi Don i did buy the bracket .

MikesRed68

As u know you cant fit the bracket through the wire hole from the rear wheel well access panel. .....

redrdstr72

Mike,

It can be installed from the back. I sent you my phone number. Call me if you need help figuring out how to do it.

MikesRed68

Don yes i want to call u but you said not bet 630 - 8 pm. I was gonna call ya bout 830 Mike

MikesRed68

Hi ED T Thank you so much for your help and pics!!! I did speak to Don last night. What a great great guy!!! and he explained his way with the bolt nut and adhesive. I dont know which method i will try. I will try and get my good friend i met from this forum who lives close by to help me. One thing is i do have the old rivets still attached .Would i need to drill them out if i go with your way? I also want to say that you guys are awesome !!!! Ive never been on any other site with guys as great as all of yous!!!! If i do need to talk to u i will pm you. Thanks so very much again.

Tom69

Mike,

This may be obvious but if you never drilled out a "pop" rivet, this may be helpful. In the top photo you can see the steel center post (mandril) of the rivet before it was pulled. The rivet puller tool will pull on the stem to compress the backside of the rivet against the frame, then cut off the stem at the top of the rivet head. If pulled properly, the remainder of the stem remains in the rivet thus providing structural integrity of the set rivet.

To drill out a pulled rivet, first the steel stem must be removed by using a narrow center punch (or something similar) to poke it through the back of the rivet. Once that is done, all that remains is the soft aluminum shell of the rivet that is easy to drill out. Normally a size 30 drill or a slightly larger ⅛ inch drill can be used to drill out the rivet head. Note, for larger rivets, you may have to use larger sized drill bits. Sometimes the hollow shaft of the rivet remains in the hole. Just take the center punch and poke it out or carefully run the drill through the hole.

If the rivet "spins" when using the drill, have someone hold the tail end of the rivet with needle-nose pliers.

If you attempt to drill out the rivet without removing the steel mandril first, the drill may walk off the rivet head and onto your paint job.

This may be overkill of a simple procedure, but that is how it is done on aircraft.

MikesRed68

Tom69...Thank you so much for your advice!!!!! Sounds great to me .