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I'm considering replacing the header reinforcement on my car. Also looking to replace the reinforcement behind the front bumper. I'm looking for someone that has done this and can give me some advice. Since I'm going to change these two pieces, then have to repair the fiberglass where the rivets show through I'm considering replacing the fiberglass panel and installing new metal supports to the new fiberglass. Seems like it would be much less time to change it all at once and not have to try to remove the metal reinforcements from the existing front fiber glass panel. Looking for feedback on this subject.
I did that on my 72 and it wasn't that hard. I am doing a body off so I could access the header bar easy. You would need to take out the headlight assemblies for easy access. I ground down the rivet shank flush with the header bar and then with a heat gun apply heat until the adhesive gets soft then use a putty knife to pry off the bar (forgot there are two brackets on each end to take out). Once the bar is out grind down the rest of the rivet including the head (from underneath) you need to remove a little fiberglass to get to the head. The rivet bumps will go down once you have removed the rivets. I sent my bar to get powder coated. Clean the whole area and apply two part epoxy and clamp the bar in place. Any other question you can PM me. Good Luck
I'm considering replacing the header reinforcement on my car. Also looking to replace the reinforcement behind the front bumper. I'm looking for someone that has done this and can give me some advice. Since I'm going to change these two pieces, then have to repair the fiberglass where the rivets show through I'm considering replacing the fiberglass panel and installing new metal supports to the new fiberglass. Seems like it would be much less time to change it all at once and not have to try to remove the metal reinforcements from the existing front fiber glass panel. Looking for feedback on this subject.
rear i dont know about?
front, i do! Very easy to do with car already apart. underneath the front end ,grind off the rivets head. once all rivets heads are gone pry the support off with a thin putty knife and or hammer blows to its sides..
now take a 3/4" hole saw in a drill with the center drill bit removed, hold the drill with two hands at a slight angle to the glass and slowly let it bite. When it bites enough straighten the hole saw and go thorough ever so slightly. Like 1/8" or so. now with a chisel and or flat tip screw driver you can pry at the glass holding the rivet head. It will come off and the rivet head will drop. Easy as pie! once thats all done make sure all holes have glue in the when you glue the new brace on. The clamping action of wood strips on top and the new brace on btm will help pull the bumps out. They wont come all the way out youll finish those on top... see pic
oh and a big tip:
make sure you have the front end , including nose, "fenders" and hood alignment pretty close before you reglue the brace on.
The nose is very moveable and If you happen to not have it pretty close to where it was when you glue in the new brace thers a chance the alignment of above parts will be very difficult .
And youll find out when its too late..
Thanks for the information. That is going to help a lot. I am doing a total body off restoration and everything has been removed from the front end including headlight assemblies. The car is on a rotisserie and all sides are very accessible. One problem is I don't have a hood on the car. I might have to make a template where the panel is now and then make sure it goes back in place. I could lay a hood on there but no way to really align it very well.
The clamping action of wood strips on top and the new brace on btm will help pull the bumps out. They wont come all the way out youll finish those on top.
Mine came out with just glue & clamps. I used a dozen clamps from horrible freight......
Per Willcox directions, put extra glue in the holes where the rivets came out of when you re-glue the metal strip back on.
While I was at it, I replaced the metal brace in the tip of the nose. Mine was rusted in half, right at the center.
Same advice as the members above. I did mine during the frame off restoration with everything removed but if the headlights and grills are removed, you could do the same.
The Willcox “Installing headLamp Header Bar” document is really good and it is what I followed to replace my rusted out header bar. Thanks Willcox! http://repairs.willcoxcorvette.com/w...stallation.pdf
I didn’t have to cut the header bar in pieces first or pry it to get it off. I just ground off the rivet tips with a zip cutter and ground deep enough into the old rusted header bar so that there was no rivet metal sticking out grabbing the header bar. The header bar just fell out.
I then used a Dremel and a flat end metal cutting bit to grind out the galvanic corroded rivet remnants from under the bonding strip. In order to get all of the aluminum rivet remnants removed, the holes became the size of a quarter and about a 1/8” to 1/4"deep.
DO NOT GO TOO DEEP TO GO THROUGH THE FIBERGLASS PANEL!
I mocked up the new header bar and marked a couple of locations for alignment then used SEM 39747 to adhere it using clamps.
Cheers,
Richard
Last edited by Kidster71; Dec 15, 2022 at 04:52 PM.
.DO NOT GO TOO DEEP TO GO THROUGH THE FIBERGLASS PANEL!
YES! Do not penetrate the top layer. Dig rivets out from the bottom. And the bonding strip never moved, it remained in place, I just dug the rivet heads out of it. Only the metal header came off. With the boards, glue, & enough clamps, the "rivet bumps" should all flatten out for you pretty well. Best advice above was to look over the Willcox info first.
I see you left the old bonding strip in place. I thought that had to be removed too along with the adhesive behind it? With that left in place does it leave room for the new adhesive?
You do not want to remove the bonding strip. It’s not going anywhere and provides a good guide for the new header bar. Just make sure that you get all the old aluminum rivet chunks out so they don’t ever cause a problem again.
The adhesive gets sandwiched between the new header bar and the bonding strip and it squeezes out to the edges helping bond it. It leaves enough of a film between the two substrates to permanently hold the header bar in place but not enough that would cause the headlights to sit lower than the headlight adjustment range that the pivot adjustments can’t handle.
Cheers,
Richard
Last edited by Kidster71; Mar 6, 2021 at 11:31 AM.
Here's the tool I made to remove the glass from underneath and get to the rivets.
Obviously a soft touch is required so it dont pop out the other side. I shortened this little hole saw cutter for the job. Its a Starret, No.A-4. Cut the bottom ring of teeth off, removed some length and then welded back on. Ground down the pilot and pulled it back so it didnt come in contact with anything while cutting. The teeth are 7/8 wide and total length is 2 1/4. After marking the headers position so it can be put back exactly in the same spot the tool simply removed enough material to remove the rivets.
Lord-Fusor adhesive in a double tube gun was used to put the header back in. Rock solid. I went Harbor Freight clamp crazy to hold it back on.
Clamping thin wooden slats on the paint side of the car over all the bumps made them vanish. I couldnt believe it, they were gone.
What brand and type adhesive to bond metal bar to body fiberglass are you using?
Thanks.
Originally Posted by John 65
Lord-Fusor adhesive in a double tube gun was used to put the header back in. Rock solid. I went Harbor Freight clamp crazy to hold it back on.
Clamping thin wooden slats on the paint side of the car over all the bumps made them vanish. I couldnt believe it, they were gone.
Originally Posted by John 65
I used Lord-Fusor. It was 2 tubes in 1 gun. Fiberglass to metal. Been a while but I believe that was the name.
I asked at my local auto paint & body supply store.... they gave me two tubes and I also bought the special gun. It was a Lord Fusor product. They said it would glue ANYTHING to ANYTHING!
I have another question. Putting the hood on for alignment would be pretty hard to do and keep it in place. One member suggested to align the panel to the hood before gluing. I won't be able to do that since there will be a ton of clamps holding the bar in place. Does this piece get "wiggy" when you remove the reinforcement or does the bonding strip help keep it stiff.
It’s pretty thick glass. It didn’t move much but always be careful when removing any reinforcement. I did the removal and install over a weekend so it didn’t sit vulnerable for long.
The repop header bar fit snug on the bonding strip with only a slight bit of side to side play. During the prefit and mark up, I installed the two side reinforcements that hold the header bar to each inner fender in order to mark it for perfect alignment.
Mine went in exactly where the old one came out. Everything lined up in the end.
If you look back at the picture I posted in reply #6, you`ll see that the hood is on, lined up, & tightened down.
The header bar was bonded on AFTER the hood was lined up. The clamps fit between the hood & front edge of hood opening.
I'm about to start this project of changing the header bar reinforcement. I rounded up a lot of clamps. I want to take it off and replace it within a day for sure. I don't want it to change shape or move. Lord- Fusor seems to be recommended, I just have to get the correct part number for steel to fiberglass.
1969 Front Header Reinforcement replacement
