Thread: I'm stumped, need help

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I'm trying to finish off a last few things so I can paint my body and I've been putting off this one for a long time cause I just can't seem to come up with anything.

On my '31 Model A the tops of the doors have some trim that go across to hold the glass in place, it has to be removable to get the window in or out. All three screws are broke off in the plate and are too small to use an easy out, and I don't really want to break one off in there as well. I thought I could just put in a nutsert but there is only 1/4" on each end and 3/16" on the center one. I can't even run a tap in the old plate with so little room.

Here's some pictures, any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Sean



hhhhhhhmmmmmmmm......As I was typing this I just thought I could use pop rivets and if I need to replace the window I can drill it out. Any better ideas?

You could just cut them out and weld a flange nut to a new piece of metal and weld it back in .?? Tough area there for sure . I save my smaller cut off wheels for working in small areas like this . So i do wear them out all the way .

They look like nut inserts....... just grind the tops off to get the old ones out and put new ones in.....

MM64

I had a similar problem on my coupe, but with only two of the holes... The original thread is a 10-32. Get a fresh 10-32 tap and a series of small drill bits including a #21. Plan on sacrificing the tap; when you are finished it will not be good for anything else.

Start drilling with a bit that is too small and use oil. When you get a hole through all of the broken-off screws, move up to a slightly larger size. Keep going until you get to a #21 drill bit (.1590" dia.). By the time I got to this point, I had one insert that spun in the hole, so I had to stop and put a tiny tack weld on it.

Once you get them all drilled to the correct size, start tapping the threads. Obviously, the tap won't go deep enough to cut the threads all the way. Tap all the holes as far as you can. Then grind 1/16" off the end of the tap and run it down all the holes again as far as it will go. Keep repeating the process until you get good threads in all the holes. When you are finished, the tap will be devoid of its "self-starter" taper and therefore pretty much useless. Fortunately, 10-32 taps aren't very expensive. Good luck!

Originally Posted by J. Robinson

I had a similar problem on my coupe, but with only two of the holes... The original thread is a 10-32. Get a fresh 10-32 tap and a series of small drill bits including a #21. Plan on sacrificing the tap; when you are finished it will not be good for anything else.

Good luck!

Just a quick note - while these particular screws may be 10-24 (or 10-32, many of the OEM Model A machine screws are a kind of odd size for a hardware or big box store at 12-24 and with even a few 12-28's thrown in for giggles. McMaster-Carr have these as well as the taps and are relatively cheap too.

These sizes are a common electrical thread pitch. Find a good commercial contractor supply house, they will stock all of these items and many more common consumables we use every day to build cars. You might just find a supply house that is very affordable, as these guys are in a very competitive market. I did that for 20 years.

I got my stainless steel 10-32 flathead Phillips machine screws and a 10-32 tap at ACE hardware...

Originally Posted by J. Robinson

I got my stainless steel 10-32 flathead Phillips machine screws and a 10-32 tap at ACE hardware...

ACE Hardware has the best hardware assortment of any of the hardware stores around.

Those are nutserts. Just gotta look around and find the right replacements.

Might even want to consider taking a 'standard' nutsert and grinding the end off to flatten it out a bit.

Thanks for all the input, my mind is starting to work again. Firebird that was a good idea, I never thought to grind one down to see if it will work.

Sean

Originally Posted by HWORRELL

ACE Hardware has the best hardware assortment of any of the hardware stores around.

I do purchase some SS onesys and twoseys from my local ACE (8-10 miles) but generally I like to buy a box of a certain size, usually of the smaller diameters. Plus - my local store does NOT have the 12-24's that an 'A' often needs - and yes my car is assembled with SS fasteners wherever they are not under load or a safety concern - then they are ARP. McMaster-Carr will ship overnight and often the price with shipping is about the same or often less then ACE, even with shipping. The ACE quality seems fine for parts that don't have much load.

If you haven't looked at the McMaster on-line catalog, take a peek here: http://www.mcmaster.com/