I need to replace the large metal v-shaped piece that the headlight acuator supports bolt to. It looks pretty straight forward to remove the headlight assemblies and all the components connected to the support, but how do I remove the support? I don't see it in any of the manuals. Does it bolt on somewhere, or is it connected to the frame? Any help or comments would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks :confused:

 

I had one of mine crack in my 71. The part is "U" shaped in a 71 and bolts to the underside of the hood area. Not a big deal to take out. You do need to disassemble the headlight parts to get out of course. Seems like a PITA when you first look at it but not especially hard. Like anything in a Vette the first time you do it you struggle a bit but when you are done you always say "that wasn't so hard at all, I can do that again in a quarter of the time if I had to do it again"

 

It was a PITA on my 69....I'm not quite sure how different it will be in your 76.

You'll have to remove the grills, headlight shields and the headlight bezels first. (provided the bucket assembly's are the same as my 69) there will be 1 large bolt between the the headlights which attaches the headlight linkage to the door - remove that. (there is a plastic bushing on the bolt... don't loose it.)


next there should be an adjusting arm on the side of the headlight bucket (right next to the outermost headlight) You might - or might not have to remove this (it's held on by two bolts) to seperate the headlight door from the support assembly. (just telling you now so you are aware of it in the later steps)

Looking up from underneth the car you should be able to see most of the bolts holding the frame in place. There should be 5 bolts. Remove them - if I remember right they are all 1/2 inch. The locations are marked below. (you won't be able to see the one hiding in the back near the actuator)


The headlight assembly should drop into the nose of the car.

Next, you will find a little spacer attached to the shaft of the headlight bucket. Mine was held inplace by a little allen screw. loosen the screw, and slide the spacer away from the ball socket on the end of the shaft. (slide it towards the actuator)

Then, on both sides of the assembly you will find 3 bolts which attach the headlight doors to the frame via the ball socket. Again these should be 1/2 in. Remove them and the headlight door should seperate from the frame.


Make sure your actuator hoses are detached and try to revove the frame from the grill opening, if it won't come out that way on your 76 you'll have to remove everything throught the headlight area.

Ok now that it's out you'll have to remove the acutator which includes the 4 bolts on the back of the frame and removal of the onle piece of linkage that attaches to the eye on the actuator rod. (attached by a cotterpin) again this shaft has a nylon bushing on it... careful not to break or mangle it.)


You can leave that eye attached and remove the actuator by unscreing the shaft from this eye, but that could effect the readjustment of the lights after your reassembly... I'm just trying to save you a little work.

Now remove the linkage from the frame by removing the thee bolts (again should be 1/2 inch)


Remove those two support rods too... you'll need to put them on the new support.

Reassemble the linkage and actuator on the new support frame and reassemble everything. It will take some wiggiling to get everything in there. Then Bolt the frame back up to the Body. *Leave the 3 bolts on the sides of the frame and those little spacers on the headlight shafts loose while bolting everything up. You are going to need to align everything. Be careful not to chip up the paint on the doors and the surrounding area like I did. (you might want to put some masking tape over the edges to add a little protection before you even take them out.)

After the frame is bolted up align the doors in the body. Be sure that the back edge clears the opening! When everything is in the right place reach up there and tighten the 3 bolts on each side of the frame (the ones that went in the ball socket (these will provide you the ability to adjust the height of the headlight door) then take take bushing and slide it almost alltheway up to the ball socket. there should be a little gap between the two to allow for a little movement, but not much...maybe a 10th of an inch. and lock it back in place.

Re-attach your hoses & wires and you should be good to go!!!



[Modified by Mike69, 3:07 AM 3/21/2002]

 

very nice post mike69 It's a keeper :) :)

 

Excellent post :) Just replaced mine ('81) last night, all the bolts are 5/16" UNC, so have 1/2" AF heads, apart from the large one holding the linkage to the door - this is 3/4" AF but has a 5/16" thread, easily stripped if you're not careful.
:cheers:

 

If I read you right, it's not the headlight assemblies, but the channel they attach to that you're asking about.
On my 77, they were (partially) attached with what looks like caulking, but they were loose and as a result, the headlights wobbled.
I was able to pry them off with a flat screwdriver, and scaped/chiselled the scraps off the underside of the nose.
The channels themselves - I sand-blasted, reshaped the curve to fit, and repainted.
I bought some adhesive at Home Depot, recommended in my earlier post : http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=187184

 

Mike69: Great Post and information! I suggest you enter this post in the Corvette Forum C3 "Tech Tips" section.

 

That could be what he is looking for ... I dunno ... well then I guess he'll have to pull out the assemblies anyway I guess.

BTW... Thanks guys I submit it... Looks like I can be productive when I can't sleep! (do you see the time on that post??? :eek: :lol:

 

I should have also mention that the two bolts at the ends of the channel atr most likely rusted. Seems the factory liked to put steel bolts in there. I had to cut mine out with a cutting wheel. When I tried to drill and retap them, I broke the end off in my hand... be careful of them! :cheers:

 

AV76,
The part you are referring to is called "Hood Surround Reinforcement Beam". Available from places such as Bairs for $75.
I am replacing mine in my 74 due to Mr. Rust. The unit is merely bonded to the underside of the body and is supported at each end by a bracket which bolts thru the inner fender wells. I used a sturdy putty knife to pry the old one off. It was really easy. Installing the new one will be equally as easy. One more thing, you still must remove each headlight assembly to get the support out. My job was made easier due to the fact that I had previously removed the Radiator, Shroud and Support so I had tons of room to work.
Hope this helps,

Stew

 

I think that answered all my questions, at least until I get started. :)
Thanks to all of you, sounds like you guys really know your stuff.

 

The trick is the reinstall and bonding process. I did mine with the front clip removed and flipped upside down on the shop floor. You won't have that luxary. What you should do after prying out the old one, cleaning, grinding, and scraping the old bonding agent, set the new one in with the inner fender brackets installed. This will line it up fairly close to the correct position. If you get it in the wrong place you may have trouble bolting the headlights back in.

Now, after you have test fit it, get a good bonding agent and some good clamps. You might want to get four large c-clamps and some 1x4 board pieces to sandwich between the clamps and the car.

Okay, mix up the bonding agent, smear it around the bottom of the front of the car and on the new brace. Put it into place, line it up on the inner fender brackets, and then clamp it across the top surface. Wipe off the excess bonding agent. When it dries you can simply spray some black paint on the edges and reassemble.

Good luck

 

Not me.... I'm just learning as I go along :lol:
:cheers: