broken headlight mounting frame????
Drifting
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 1,426
Likes: 1
From: VetteMOD
St. Jude Donor '05-'07
Originally Posted by bobs77vet
got it....the problem i was having is that for some reason the nylon collar that the front bolt (by the headlights) pivots on was not pivoting and when i tightened up the bolt the arm would not pivot....i took it all apart and cleaned it and filed stuff up and it works fine now....
However at looking at the other side the vacuum can plunger is not extending far enough to "lock out" the pivot arm. what happens if i leave that way? does not having it locked, place any more strain on the vacuum cannister?
However at looking at the other side the vacuum can plunger is not extending far enough to "lock out" the pivot arm. what happens if i leave that way? does not having it locked, place any more strain on the vacuum cannister?
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 11,874
Likes: 263
From: Arlington Va Current ride 04 vert, previous vettes: 69 vert, 77 resto mod
got it thanks everybody....i can hardly move from taking out those triangle bracket bolts....my arms are not use to being bent like pretzels....i have no skin on my fingers from those damn springs....don't grab them with your fingers and pull them loose...bad idea....also the spring tension is less when they are fully retracted. got the pass side all squared away no more surprises.
the problem with the drivers side was the clevis pin adjuster was "too short" and the "door stop" was adjusted to prevent it from going to "full lock"... so played gumby some more and fixed that.... i need advil and a beer...
the problem with the drivers side was the clevis pin adjuster was "too short" and the "door stop" was adjusted to prevent it from going to "full lock"... so played gumby some more and fixed that.... i need advil and a beer...
Last edited by bobs77vet; May 2, 2005 at 07:05 PM.
Drifting
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 1,426
Likes: 1
From: VetteMOD
St. Jude Donor '05-'07
Originally Posted by cannonfl
I have a '68 and mine are cracked on both sides on both headlights. The headlights bounce when the car's driven down the street.
I also have a lot of damage below the front grills, missing fiberglass and bent metal where the air damn is. The nose of my vette also sits lower than it should. The hood's edge sits about a 1/2 inch higher than the nose.
It looks like the car took a dive under someone's bumper at one time...
My question, would it be better to just replace the front clip? I'm assuming a front clip will include the parts that are bent and broken. If so, can anyone direct me to where I can find a good one at a good price?
Thanks,
Frank
I also have a lot of damage below the front grills, missing fiberglass and bent metal where the air damn is. The nose of my vette also sits lower than it should. The hood's edge sits about a 1/2 inch higher than the nose.
It looks like the car took a dive under someone's bumper at one time...
My question, would it be better to just replace the front clip? I'm assuming a front clip will include the parts that are bent and broken. If so, can anyone direct me to where I can find a good one at a good price?
Thanks,
Frank
If you have an "early" 68, your headlight doors are smaller than the 68L-82. This means the door opening in the front clip is smaller also. If you buy a new clip, you will have to either get new doors or glass the openings. A rebuilt headlight ***'y is about $4-500 ea. If I were you, I would consider fixing yours. If your nose was "pushed down" in an accident, you can probably loosen all the attachment brackets and pull it up. As for the cracked headlight stuff, it can be welded sucessfully.
Instructor
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 229
Likes: 1
From: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Originally Posted by Twin_Turbo
common problem, both mine were cracked (on both sides even), the only way to fix it is to get new supports, that stuff is pot metal and hard to weld (some say it's aluminium but I'm fairly sure it isn't and if it is it's bad quality w/ lots of contaminations)
Maybe on earlier cars GM used something else....
Advanced
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 96
Likes: 0
From: portland TN
If your hood is a half inch higher then the front clip then it sounds like the bonding seams between the inner fender skirts have seperated from the outer nose. The inner fender skirts are what the radiator and radiator supports are attached too. The hood mounts to those which are part of the inner fenders. If everything is bonded correctly if you loosen everything up everything you raise together. To the best of my knowledge the only way to correct this is to take it break the seams appart, realign and rebond. It can be done on the car, but it might be easier to remove the front clip and jig it all up and the reattach. Big job, and something you might want to leave up to a body shop.
