I had my 1970 Corvette restored. Part of the process was to repair the nose bumps caused by the rivets related to the header bar. I instructed the method to be used as outlined by Wilcox (do not drill through the nose fiberglass). Unfortunately the restorer did it his way and drilled out holes to remove the rivets and then repaired. Now with summer heat holes beginning to show up under the paint. I know it will get worst. So the damage has been done. At this stage, any correcting repair advice? Fillers or bonding that will not allow holes to come back?

 

Had mine fixed also but dont think they drilled out the rivets, looked really good when I got it back, now 6 mo later I can start to see them re appearing, cant wait to here what others say about this.

 

There is no going back if they drilled them out.. and of all the bone headed things for them to do. If you handed them the pages we did on this and they ignored it then they really goofed.

The holes are shrinking and the only thing you can do at this point is keep repairing them... Urethane primer left to sit on it in the heat will help, then block, wet sand, re-shoot.

Not what you want to hear and since there isn't really a good break line on the C3 it would mean the front end would have to be shot again.... and then they will come back..

The solution is a surround panel at this point.. IMHO... This is an old can of worms and I've never had any luck hiding a hole in any upper panel... Maybe someone else will have a better idea than me.


@Sludger... If they drilled them out as illustrated in the sheet I published they should not come back. What causes them to expand is the rivet and the galvanic corrosion associated with it holding a steel bar. If they removed fiberglass to make the top smooth then all they did was make the fiberglass thinner which would make the pop so up again pretty quick.

My best advice to you would be to look under the car at the header bar and see if any of the rivets still exist. If you don't see any then at least they did what they said... But they may not have put enough of the epoxy in divots created by removing the rivet when repaired and this is what holds the fiberglass down. See the fiberglass gets pushed outward from years of the rivet pressure pushing on it. When you glue the header bar in you must make sure to get plenty of epoxy in the divots and you should clamp on that area, this will hold the fiberglass in place. On page three or four you'll see the divots I'm talking about. http://willcoxcorvette.com/repairand...lp.php?hID=322

If you do rivets when you look then they did not remove them.

Boy.... makes me sick... I'm sorry you guys have these issues.

 

I did give them the Willcox instructions and even ordered the Header replacement from Willcox which they did not use. (I still have it). But I am in KC and they are in St Louis so I could not supervise. I was surprised and pissed when they did it their way. It is too bad too because the complete job is amazing. Just took Best in Class at a Corvette show today! What I am seeing takes the correct lighting and knowing what to look for, but I think more 95 degrees and direct sun will bring it out this summer.

I too was thinking (unless someone had another suggestion) of a new front end. They will stand behind their work and have already assured me I can bring it back this winter for another try so that is why I was researching options. I would probably have to supply the new front end and they would do all the rest. But I would like to eliminate a few other options first.

I know for a fact the rivets are gone and completely drilled out so they did not just glass over the top. Sludger, are you suggesting an option to try first is an Epoxy filler, if so name and/or type and approach??

 

No.. I was answering two questions at one time..

If they drilled yours then I'm sure the rivets are gone and I don't know of any method that will hide them. Congrats on the BOC...

Everything below @Sludger was to address his issue...

 

Sadly all they did is put a temporary band aid on it. The good news is they can still be removed. I did mine 2 years ago. I drilled out the rivets using a small drill to get up to the ones at the ends. Of course everything was out prior, and I mean everything, so it wasnt too bad to get to them. Then to remove the heads of the rivets I put a small hole saw bit in the drill with the center pilot obviously out of it and got them all out without going through the glass. After the bar was removed, and before it was glued back on, I clamped stripps of wood over all the bumps and believe it or not they flattened back out on there own. Then reglued the bar to the bonding stripp with Lord-Fusor fiberglass-metal adhesive using their 2 tube gun. Put a few marks before removal in the bar and the bottom of the glass so it went back in exactly the same spot. Bobra any chance of going back to the shop and discussing it with them, they didnt do it the way you wanted.

 

Hi B,
I replied to your other thread about your rivets.
Regards,
Alan

 

Thanks Alan, I count it as a good option. I am new to the board and probably should have had one thread and not post in both Tech and General. I was looking for the broadest distribution.

Bob R

 

I may be a little slow on the uptake here...you asked that the rivets not be drilled from the top...but your shop did that anyway? Their repair work is now becoming visible? Did they provide any guarantee for their work?

You can correct their repair work and lay up fiberglass patches over their drill holes. It's going to cost you bodywork and paint.

 

Thanks Easy Mike. More good input for me to share with him.

I am in KC and they are in St Louis so I could not supervise. I was surprised and pissed when they did it their way. It is too bad too because the complete job is amazing. Just took Best in Class at a Corvette show today!

I know for a fact the rivets are gone and completely drilled out so they did not just glass over the top. What I am seeing takes the correct lighting and knowing what to look for, but I think more 95+ degrees and direct sun will bring it out this summer.

This is a quality shop and a stand up guy. There is no question that he will attempt any new approach. He has already sent me two emails reminding me he expects me to come back to see the effect of the summer heat. Overall the rest of the work (very extensive-fame off) is top notch, which is why I picked him. He just thought his approach to the nose rivets would be OK. Bad decision.

They will stand behind their work and have already assured me I can bring it back this winter for another try so that is why I was researching options. I am not at all concerned that I will get a redo, just what is the best approach.

 

I know this is very outdated, but does this repair guide still exist somewhere??

 

My 72 has the rivet issue pretty bad. I am not looking forward to dealing with this problem,but at some point I am going to have to deal with it! I was thinking about welding a washer onto a holesaw bit to prevent the saw from going deeper than the thickness of the metal header. It looks like the whole front of the car,including the headlight assemblies and the radiator will have to come out to do this repair.

 

Good luck with that!

 

Here’s a good thread on the process and I included the Wilcox doc in post #4.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/c3-tech-performance/4827077-headlight-reinforcement-bar-replacement.html

cheers,
Richard

 

if you know 13 years is outdated, please start a new thread