So has anyone ever had this happen? Got the Vette out today, for the first time in weeks. Decided to go on a little road trip which involved a about 50 miles of interstate. Went off the off-ramp and heard a wierd thud under the car. I got to my friends house and they walked up to the car and said "what the hell happened to your car, your head light door is missing". To my dis-may the thud I heard was the door popping off and landing some how under the car. I high tailed it back to where I had heard the noise and sure enough, laying dead center in the middle of the lane laid my hear light door. I actually got out in a busy intersection, stopped traffic and picked it up. Unbelievably it had not been ran over, but still had a good bit of road rash around the edges of it. Appearantly the only thing holding it to the head light assembly is some kind of adhesive which in this case was dry as a bone and hard as a brick on the back side of the door. I guess I am lucky in the fact it didn't fly off going down the interstate at 80 mph, because it surely would have come back and busted the windshield. I can get the door refinished but does anyone know what kind off adhesive is used to bond it to the assembly. To say the very least I was very nausiated and upset when this all happned. Has anyone ever had this happen or am I the only lucky one? I wish I could just leave the headlights up now because it looks terrible, like it is missing an eye or something, lol.

 

I've been on this forum for only a few years and haven't heard anything like that...

 

Never heard that one before.

 

Mine popped off once, but a deer was to blame. I still don't like to drive at night.

 

I know on mine there are two screws on either side that keep the cover on...

 

The only thing on the backside of mine was 3 alignment tabs, one on top and one on each side of the door and a ring of some kind of adhesive that bonded it to the rotating assembly. I have been thinking since last night about it and it still continue to baffle me why the hell it happen the way it did. Guess I will never know. If anyone knows a reputable Corvette bodyshop in upstate SC, please let me know. I might just get the entire car redone since it is the original paint and I am sure the door will not match very well when I have it redone. Thanks for the input guys.

 

Your The First I Herd Of This, Have Own My Car 14 Years! Thanks Will Check To See How It's Attacked.

 

Mine fell off while the light was up, so it fell into the well under the door. Minor paint damage. I just cleaned the old adhesive and applied some RTV and clamped it on overnight. That was 2 months ago and still solid.

 

If the dried adhesive is green its probably SMC adhesive Its good stuff (as a matter of fact its what bonds the dog leg (lower piece of rear quarterpanal right in back of doors) to the car.


A good paint shop should have it and many will let you borrow the special caulking gun that's required to use the two part adhesive.

MIke

 

Wow, wish mine had fallen off inside the engine bay, mine is scratched up pretty bad. So pkazsr yours was only on with adhesive as well huh. I have heard both sides that some were on with screws and some were on with only adhesive like mine. It seems to me to be a pretty big safety issue as well, because if it had come off while I was on the interstate I am sure it would have hit the windshield if not come through it. Thanks for all the replys on this. I will post pictures when I get a chance and I figure out how to on here.

 

Never heard of that happening before.

 

That's a first.

 

I guess I'll give mine a little tug to see if they have started coming loose.

 

Hey Joe, I think our cars are almost identical, like the chrome wheels, very nice man.

 

That is a first -- or at least rare. The headlight door is a rotating assm that really can't "fall off" the car. However, the assm itself is in two pieces. One half houses the bulb, mount, springs, etc. The other half is the flat lid that completes the hood surface -- when closed. The flat surface (cover) attaches to the housing with 4 screws: 2 front and 2 rear. My car is not handy, but here's what I'm guessing happened....

The cover must be made in two pieces. One part is probably the "raised frame" that screws the cover to the rotating assm. The other part is the flat cutout that must be bonded to the frame. I'm guessing that's what came unglued? If so, you probably have the thin, flat square which fits in your headlight hole. It probably has little depth (e.g., 1/8"-1/4").

Depending on the damage, a shop might offer to repair it. Call vette2vette (.com) and see if Jason has a used one (the whole glued cover). That way, you can avoid re-bonding and worrying if the repair will show. After all that's the part you see most!

Gregg

 

Some read that the complete assembly came off. You and I had just the semi-flat cover (shows when the lights are down) came off. On the safety issue, I would think if they would come off @ highway speeds they would fly over the car, I hope. I don't worry about the other one, my ac/heater controls are next on my list.

 

The flat panel seperated from the housing the bolts to together. I might indeed see about getting one that had not seperated from a parts warehouse. I was looking last night at the panel and it is scratched all the way throught the paint and gel coat, so I don't know how good a repair on it would look. Furthermore, I tried removing the adhesive left on the panel and it is on there so hard I can't chip it away. At this point I am so disgusted I just coverd the car up and am not going to fool with it for a while.

 

If mine was as damaged as yours, I would practice on repairing the cover and matching the paint, that skill might come in handy on other parts of your Vette.