Fibreglass quarter valances

[LouisW]

Hello,

I just won some valances on ebay for the almighty sum of 99pence but i'm wondering how i'm going to mount them? If i understand correctly there is no weldednut or nut fibreglassed into the valance.

How would i go about mounting it without damaging the fibreglass and creating tears? Strips of steel with drilled holes comes to mind to spread out the surface pressure?

Louis.

[WIMPUS]

7112 wrote:

Hello,

I just won some valances on ebay for the almighty sum of 99pence but i'm wondering how i'm going to mount them? If i understand correctly there is no weldednut or nut fibreglassed into the valance.

How would i go about mounting it without damaging the fibreglass and creating tears? Strips of steel with drilled holes comes to mind to spread out the surface pressure?

Louis.

that's maybe a option, steel plates with drilled and tapped holes ..  ;)  Mine front valances where also rotten badly and repaired with fiberglass , filler ... So bought some new steel ones ( you get 1 steel one for  2 fiberglass)   :)

But you made a deal , for 99 pence you can't go wrong  :P  ;)

There will be other guys here that can say you how to do it right  ;)

[LouisW]

Alright, thanks wim! Some other steel ones from the same guy on ebay sold for £10.50 + £10 delivery but i'd already won my fibreglass ones and atleast they wont rot!

I also have some acrylic at hand which I could use.. I'll just wait for what others say :P

[WIMPUS]

7112 wrote:

Alright, thanks wim! Some other steel ones from the same guy on ebay sold for £10.50 + £10 delivery but i'd already won my fibreglass ones and atleast they wont rot!

I also have some acrylic at hand which I could use.. I'll just wait for what others say :P

that's true , they won't ever rot  :P mine .. i painted the inside with rust protection  and many layers or anti-stone chip ;) just need to check it every year or more  i think ( like everything else of metal on the car )  :)

[LouisW]

Someone must have gotten fibreglass valances! ;D the best idea I've had yet is using steel strips as a giant washer.

[aar0sc]

I've got some on my car, but I've never taken them off and I don't know how they're held on... everything else is rusted to everything else, so maybe rust can help you here?

[LouisW]

Fibreglass doesn't rust though!;D this is one place rust won't help ;)

[Lucky 13]

My car came equipped with said valances - they were the only panel that wasn't rotten! That said, they don't fit too well either.

Whoever first fitted them just drilled through the inner panel and used a large washer to spread the load. I replaced the 2 single washers+nuts with a metal strip onto which I welded two nuts - so just what you're thinking of. It worked well and was easy to locate while assembling.

That was OK to get the thing together and MOT'd, it's been off the road for 10+ years and I've been playing with it for just over 2 of those, so quite keen to get it going again.

Now I'm going to take them off again to get a proper fit. The n/s is too high, the o/s won't go back far enough to tie in to the wheel arch line of the front wing. That's going to mean cutting out the inner panel and then reglassing it into a more appropriate position. So, I guess the metal versions would fit straight off without having to 'fettle' them, so possibly an easier job than getting these sorted. Plus, the purists would say they have to be metal to keep things original........

Have fun!               John

PS - there were no earth wires on the sidelight/indicators (no idea how they worked before I got it) so I had to run them through to the chassis to make a circuit.

[CharlieB]

I made up small stainless steel plates with a clinch nut in the centre (a standard nut welded in place would do just as well) & a  1/8 hole either side. These were rivited to the inside of the fibreglass valences.

[LouisW]

Using clinch nuts is a good idea! Atleast then I wont have to mess about with welding.... They wont be going on properly when I get them anyway, I just want to know they'll fit when I do want them to go on without any messing around.

What size clinch nuts did you use if you dont mind me asking?

I have some strips of acrylic sheet which I could maybe use? It's alot more versatile and I need to get rid of it as it's just messing my room up!:P

Regards,
Louis

[Velocita Rosso]

Nutsert tools do the job

[CharlieB]

When I said clinch nut I actually meant the ones you fit in metal with a press or hammer, the correct name is hanknut or pemsert. But in fact you could use the type you fit with a rivet gun type thing ie rivnut or nutsert. They only really work in metal.
There is another option to fit directly in fibreglass & that's the jacknut (I've got the name right this time) its what Triumph used in the 1500 spoiler (I know because I had to replace one but could only find metric).