wendyleehewitt

Hi Guys! Would really like to put a rack on my convertible '87. I LOVE the idea of that guy below who talked about making one out of TEAK! Where do I place my order for one?!? :-)

Seriously; if ANYONE out there knows where I can find a new or used rack that will fit, I'll gladly pay a Finder's Fee. It can be in any condition.

Thanks!
wendy
(the only girl w/a black convert. 'Vette in the Florida Keys!)

96RedRoadster

I was lucky enough to have my Corvette come with a waterproof carrier that slides onto the luggage rack when I purchased it. The only "practical" feature of the car!

anciano

The template for drilling mounting holes in the right position is one thing, but how are you going to get washers and nuts on the mounting bolts? I have a feeling that the rack was installed at the factory before the deck lid was attached to the car.

stevbullock

This note is for Wendy. The template installation instruction does not call for bolts and washers - only screws. I believe the exact placement of the holes is only for the factory rack to fit properly. There is nothing directly under the back deck that a screw would damage. To solve the issue of unavailability, I have purchased a rack from a 1994 Cougar (like my Mother had) that is close enough to the correct configuration as not to matter. I am currently restoring this for installation.

Cool95vette

I have been looking for a carrier like that. Is that carrier made specifically for the luggage rack? If you can tell me who makes them or who sells them I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks.

stevbullock

Yes, I saw the photo and can't help but believe someone, somewhere wrecked one like yours with a perfectly good rack and I can't find it. Oh well, perhaps in my next life . . .

stevbullock

This sounds like a nursery rhyme but: The nuts that hold the screws that hold the slats are under your rear deck.

I know no one who knows how the nuts are retained other than by the force created by the screws holding the rack pieces in place. I just found and purchased a factory luggage rack. It came with #10x24, 1 1/4" machine screws which held the luggage rack pieces in place to the deck. Clearly they fit matching nuts, and probably washers, on the underside of the deck to hold any luggage firmly in place. I am investigating several methods of installing the rack that do not involve removing the body from the frame to get at the underside of the deck. If anyone has good ideas please put them here. Don't say "molly bolt" unless you've found a stainless version.

Once a factory rack is removed, there will be roughly ten unnecessary holes in the rear deck.

Joe C

not 100% sure (but 99.99% sure), but i think the bolted slats are secure via "well nuts" in the body. removing the factory rack shouldn't be that hard, but you would have a couple dozen holes to fill, sand, fill, sand, primer, sand, sealer, paint to match, clear, buff, polish, look like crap, etc, etc, etc. i'd leave the factory rack in place -

BTW, for those who don't know what a well nut is --

stevbullock

Can't believe it! I can get them at West Marine where I get my boat stuff. Three bucks a piece! Perfect - Thanks!

stevbullock

Sorry, but I missed your message much earlier in the exchange. I woke up one morning and decided to put nothing but factory standard on the beast, so teak and my mother's Cougar XR-7 rack idea were out. I steeled myself to a long hunt which just paid off with a find and buy on eBay. A fellow in Pennsylvania was (is?) parting out two 93's and had two for sale. I almost had a heart attack. From my perspective $275 was a great price, and it looks like new. Must have been well garaged, like the beast. I call it the beast as I took it to a tuner who specializes in Corvettes and had it dyno-tuned to 375hp, well beyond the factory 300 I walked in with. Made quite a difference and actually gets better mileage. Good luck with all your plans!

aboatguy

375 on a dyno with just a tune? Who's your tuner?

He's a genius and getting more hp than many get with a head cam swap.

103047boat

Check out the rack on a Fiero I set mine on top of it and its the same length and width and made almost identical to the vette ones

JimGnitecki

None of the above posts mention the TYPE of bolts used to hold the rack and slats on. In a posting a few weeks back, someone who ahs one mentioend that the bolts / nuts are the EXPANDING type that work like this:

The nut is permanently attached to the bolt, with an expandable rubber sleeve between the nut and the head of the bolt. The whole aasembly gets isnerted through the slat into the deck, and then the head of the bolt gets tightened. As the head tightens, it pulls the nut upward, and that expands the rubber insert and "tightens" it against the UNDERside of the deck.

I imagine you shoudl not OVER torque those botlheads. The rubber provides plenty of friciton against loosening.

There is a name for this type of fatsener, but I cannot recall it.

Jim G

Streamline

Well Nuts. Original mounting screws were metric thread.

stevbullock

Sorry to be so tardy in this response. Been off the net for some time. The company is South Georgia Corvette in Thomasville, the SW part of the state near Valdosta. The owner brought in a retired GM engineer who actually worked on the development of the original C4 PCM and understood its issues and how to address them. I was surprised to find the OS is similar to HP's Unix. Fuel flow, timing advance, EGT, oxygen levels, all the possible adjustments, were made during five dyno runs. I am still most pleased, and this was done two years ago. After mine they did a 93 with similar results. The engineer was a virtuoso of the PCM and worth every penny. We are talking shaft hp not Bhp.

mwk777

I am sorry to post this but I have found a bought a new factory luggage rack for my 1990 black convertible! I have been looking for years and there it was on eBay yesterday!!! Bought it immediately for 325.00. Just thought I would post this to give hope to the ones still searching. They are out there!!! Good luck

Beerglasses

Can anyone please tell me how much space there is between the fuel tank and the top rear clip. I have a 95 Convertible and have found a very good after market rack. I just want to know how far I can drill without causing a major problem. Thank you.

1984Z51auto

If you open and remove the gas filler hatch and the rubber spill liner from the tank filler neck, you can see the clearance from body to tank. I could get my hand in between the tank and body so its roughly an inch.

Beerglasses

I shall do as suggested. Many thanks.

Kennn

Sir,
Any guidance you may have in locating a template and hardware specs for the factory luggage rack? I'm contemplating making one in an exotic wood.
Thanks in advance for any help,
Ken