Door Guide Receiver Assembly Hardware C3

[Charles P.]

Help. The Door guide receiver assembly on a C3 has a double function. It serves in door closure depth and also has a hole with a nylon bushing on the R & L side that accepts the deck pins when the deck is closed. I was repairing mine today when one of the screws that fastens it down fell into that abyss behind the door jams. No problem I thought. I'll just get out my handy super magnet and fish it out. Well that's a big problem since after an hour or so of sweating I realized this seems to be the only area of the car that steel is used extensively hence the magnet idea wasn't going to work as it was sticking to everything but the lost screw. I contemplated for a moment that scene from "The French Connection' where they use air impact cutters searching that Lincoln for the heroin. I wanted that screw back badly but decided against the Gene Hackman treatment as being a bit too invasive.
The screw I'm looking for has a cap head with sort of a conjoined "AF" on it. It's sort of a black phosphate wash. The half dozen or so catalogs I have list the receiver but not the hardware besides which they would probably send the wrong on anyway. You know how it is.
Thanks and Happy Father's Day to all.

[mike cobine]

Re: Door Guide Receiver Assembly Hardware C3

A few thoughts, but remember, they are the middle of the night.

1. A super magnet will get you in trouble as it will attract all steel. Use a really weak magnet and fish around. It will lift the tiny screw and not stick to the frame.

2. Use a wad of gum. Sounds back, but if you attach gum to something like the three-prong claw pickup tool, and work it down in there, you might snag the screw and get it stuck in the gum and can pull it back up. The gum shouldn't be too sticky, or everything will be a mess. The idea is the gum is soft and you can mash the screw into the gum.

3. Have you removed the interior side panel? that should give you quite a bit of access.

4. If you are lucky, and it went down the long square metal passage, you can pull the body mount access panel in the wheelwell and see the bottom.

[Joe L.]

Re: Door Guide Receiver Assembly Hardware C3

Charles-----

It's not really clear to me which screw that you're talking about. The door pin receiver and the deck lid pin receiver are 2 seperate parts and, overall, there are several screws involved. However, no matter; all of the screws are long-since GM-discontinued or never available, at all, in SERVICE. As far as I know, none are available in reproduction. So, that means you'll either need to retrieve the one you lost or look for a used replacement.

[Harmon C.]

Re: Door Guide Receiver Assembly Hardware C3

Charles

Check The body mount first and remove the rear tire. Their are two pockets one you can see by the body bolt and one forward of it where the wires for the door switch are.
As mike said remove the interior side pannel. At the bottom near the floor many have rust and may have a hole to fish the bolt out or you could drill one. Lyle

[Harmon C.]

Also

When looking in the body mount hole their is a round hole to the forward pocket that with the magnet may find the bolt. Lyle

[Charles P.]

Re: Door Guide Receiver Assembly Hardware C3

You are right about the receiever...It is in the same general area. The heat must have been getting to me. I have had my fill of fishing for it and am afraid I'll pull the door ajar wiring apart which is there. The cap head bolt with the "AF" mark on the head bolts the part down that has the nylon bushings for the deck lid guide. In general which vendors carry the most used replacement parts out there??

[Joe L.]

Re: Door Guide Receiver Assembly Hardware C3

Charles-----

The bolt to which you refer was GM #3976451. This, particular, bolt was once-available in SERVICE, but it was discontinued in 1980. GM says that it was replaced by bolt GM #11501911. However, I doubt that since GM #11501911 is a METRIC size bolt. It may work in certain applications when a metric nut is also used, though.

For a used example, I'd try Pacific Corvette of Puyallup, WA, Paragon Vintage of Sawyer, MI, Contemporary Corvette of Bristol, PA, or Piper's Corvette of Vermillion, IL.

[Harmon C.]

Re: Door Guide Receiver Assembly Hardware C3

Charles If you check from the body mount hole the wires are above that area and you should be able to see the wires and not cause problems. Lyle