73BBVette

Or fender skirts as we call them down here...lol.
Anyway, looking for any pointers on reinstalling them. I pulled them out to do some repair to one, and ended up finding a replacement for the other. My guess is sometime in the past, a blown tire shredded the back end of one, and the other side, well, who knows. I have them in good shape now, and was wondering the best way to re-bond them in place. ( Body is off.) Im worried about the hood hinges and radiator support not lining up after they are glued in. I put the driver side in and bolted the splash guard in place to the rocker panel, and the single bolt in the front to the headlight support. This looks to be real close, but my guess it needs to be spot on for the hinges, other wise the hood won't open or close correctly. Could I do the same on the other side, and after the body is back on the frame, bolt up to the radiator support, fit hood hinges for alignment, then, maybe with a putty knife, work the VPA between the fender and liner? I'm open to suggestions and I have a little time, as I'm still cleaning up around the firewall.
Thanks

20mercury

Think you are on the right track, you need to get a screw driver and pry the glue seam apart and then spoon in some adhesive. I highly recommend that you get the Glas Ra video, I think it is vol #3 that tells you how and has photos of how to redo all of this. I bought #3 and #4 volumes for C3's, pricey but an invaluable resource to do body work. Ecklers and some other Corvette vendors have these videos, plus sometimes, you can find on ebay.

Hope this helps!

Hopefully DUB and Porch Dog will put together a similar "how to" one day!

BTW, I think you want to bond and fit all of this including the inner fender skirts (dang is there any other name for them??) with the body on so I agree with your thinking. Also I am thinking VPA is not for structural glue seams, so check with Evercoat on the best stuff to glue with as I would call this seam a "structural seam", IMO. I used Ecklers restoration formula for this seam plus there are other suitable adhesives too.

73BBVette

Thanks,
I'm not sure of the best adhesive. There's a lot of stuff out there, so I'll research that too. Thanks for the tip on the videos.

RBrid

I would agree that VPA is not the right product for this job. Look at the thread titled "Evercoat 994" next to yours. I have to glue inner skirts and fenders too and DUB recommended the SEM 39747 adhesive. I'm doing it while the body is on the frame, with pea gravel

DUB

Assuming that your body is made out of SMC and NOT the press molded polyester fiberglass.

You can use the SEM adhesive part number 39747. There are others out there...and the SEM adhesive does take a special applicator gun..and you can call your local SEM area rep and he/she should have a loaner gun to loan you so you can use their product. You can call SEM to get the name/number of your area rep.

The 'problem' you might run into is the area above where your upper A-arms go and the inner skirt is bonded to the top hood surround.

With the body not being on the frame...your front end can 'bunch-up'. And when you go to stretch it back out when putting the body back on the frame (if needed)...this 'bunching -up' can cause the top hood surround to raise up slightly,,,and the fender to bow out slightly.

You can use the two part adhesives made in the tubes that get applied using an applicator gun.

iknow that ther is a liottle bit of 'wiggle' room when dealingwitheh hinges. due toteh hoels inteh hignes are NOT rpecise exact holes forteh botls.

If this car were inmy hsop. I would prep everythignadn get it fited adn make suer I am ready to applyteh adhesive and tehnb install teh body backl onteh frame adn tehn I would bodn inteh inner skirtsa t that time so ic an get teh inner skirt whre i need it adn teh top hoodo surround being flauh withteht hood.

So...you bolting the rear splash shields is what I would do...and then possibly clamp the front area of the inner skirt where I could get one of my long reach Vise-grip clamps to hold it there long enough to get teh body back on.

YES...I understand that if you also have the radiator support installed it can be a bit challenging...but that is how I would do it.

IF for some reason that just will not work at all...I would then bond in the front portion of the inner skirt by your side marker light and stop there. This is a critical bond area due to you have to try to get it right so that if your car has a 'bolt in' lower valance...you can get the angle and separation of the fenders correct so this bolt in lower valance will go in correctly and fit up as designed.

Sometimes I may put a 1/16" shim in between the inner skirt and the top radiator support bolt on BOTH sides to help make sure that the portion of the inner skirt that bonds to the vertical edge of the top hood surround by the hood hinge has a narrow gap for the adhesive...and if I need to.... I can take the shim out if needed when I am setting up the hood hinges.

If this car is polyester fiberglass for the top hood surround, fenders and inner skirt...then the Vette Panel Adhesive can be used. BUT all panels MUST be polyester fiberglass.

DUB

73BBVette

This car is a 73, and all original body parts. The pass side skirt was so splintered and missing a good portion of the backend, that I replaced it with a used one from another 73. Thank you for the input. This is great information, and it's obvious you've done this a few times. ��As far as a bonding agent, I have the Evercoat 870. What I need is Evercoat 994 or the SEM 39747. ( Another thread said the 994 is no longer produced?). I'll start researching that and see what I can find.

DUB

YES..Evercoat discontinued making the 994.

DUB

CLJonesVette

DUB

Knowing that if you expect and adhesive to adhere...the surface should be cleaned and prepped....especially if the area that is separated has been like that for a while. So simply injecting and adhesive in the area where it is separated is a gamble and expect it to hold.

Keeping in mind that none of us have a crystal ball. I know I would try to scuff that area and get it cleaned out using CLEAN compressed air so all dusts and so on are not there and THEN I would inject the adhesive. In some scenarios I have encountered..I take my Dremel tool and route out the old adhesive or use heat and a sharp chisel and get it to come off teh panels without damaging them. So...it all depends.

I honestly would not think that I would go through all of the 'drama' to remove the inner skirt to fix this one area of delamination. BUT.....I can say that I would NOT do it while the body is not on the frame and correctly adjusted and sitting on the ground like it would be normally.

The reason is that I would not want to bond it and NOT get the height of the top hood surround correct so when the hood is closed. I find out I should have raised up the top hood surround....thus having a wider gap...and then inject the adhesive. That front clip DOES have flex to it. You can lift up and push down on the front end where the emblem is and watch the wheel well lips on the fenders move in and out.

DUB

CLJonesVette

RBrid

Removing the inner skirt from the fender is a lot of work.

In my case the skirt came off with the fender when I removed the fender: https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...post1595375608. Then I had to separate the two.

Here's when I reinstalled the inner skirt: https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...post1596423531

Good luck.

DUB

Maybe my previous reply was not written correctly.

I would NOT remove the inner skirt. Especially if the front and rear bonding areas where the skirt is bonded to the fender are still intact and solid.

I have seen this area ( above the upper control arm area) separate many times and many times it can be prepped and bonded back without having to remove the inner skirt.

Obviously you can repair this issue as you see fit. Just trying to save you some aggravation if it is not needed.

DUB

CLJonesVette