Repairing the center grille retaining screw support

[David J.]

My '66 Corvette has a broken fiberglass tab in the center of the nose piece of the car. The center grille retaining screw attaches to that broken tab and supports the center of the grille. Has anyone had any success in repairing that broken fiberglass tab? Any advice would be appreciated. Dave

[Randy R.]

Re: Repairing the center grille retaining screw support

I haven't had my 67 on the road yet, so I don't know if my repair will last, but for what it's worth, this is what I tried.

On the horizontal surface above the missing tab, I ground a semi circle into the panel. The diameter was about an inch and a half. The ground area was tapered so that the area next to the panel edge was very thin, while the panel thickness at the edge of the the semicircle was only slightly reduced.

I then used a piece of 12 ga single strand insulated copper wire to form the shape of the missing tab. I bent the two ends of the wire at a ninety degree angle and taped the ends to the horizontal panel, positioning the loop of the wire where the missing tab should be. The tape was positioned past the ground area.

I then cut a single piece of fiberglass cloth to in the shape of the ground area together with the shape of the missing tab. I made three or four of these,( I can't remember the exact number) with the simicirculer area of each suceeding piece being slightly smaller to accommodate the taper of the ground area.

I then soaked the pieces of cloth in black resin and put them in place, with part on the ground area and part filling in the wire loop. The wire loop holds the cloth in place. The loop was actually made a bit oversize to allow for final shaping.

I let the resin cure, removed the wire, sanded the ground area and the tab flat, and drilled the hole for the mounting bolt.

If this doesn't make sense, I will take a picture and post it.

Good luck,

Randy

[Ronald L.]

Re: Repairing the center grille retaining screw support

In the place of regular fiberglass & resin, I'd suggest high strength epoxy resin that can be tinted or comes tinted to your glass color, add glass, and clamp the area so that cure is achieved under compression, then grind the area to the desired profile and thickness.

[Joe R.]

Re: Repairing the center grille retaining screw support

I haven't had my 67 on the road yet, so I don't know if my repair will last, but for what it's worth, this is what I tried.

On the horizontal surface above the missing tab, I ground a semi circle into the panel. The diameter was about an inch and a half. The ground area was tapered so that the area next to the panel edge was very thin, while the panel thickness at the edge of the the semicircle was only slightly reduced.

I then used a piece of 12 ga single strand insulated copper wire to form the shape of the missing tab. I bent the two ends of the wire at a ninety degree angle and taped the ends to the horizontal panel, positioning the loop of the wire where the missing tab should be. The tape was positioned past the ground area.

I then cut a single piece of fiberglass cloth to in the shape of the ground area together with the shape of the missing tab. I made three or four of these,( I can't remember the exact number) with the simicirculer area of each suceeding piece being slightly smaller to accommodate the taper of the ground area.

I then soaked the pieces of cloth in black resin and put them in place, with part on the ground area and part filling in the wire loop. The wire loop holds the cloth in place. The loop was actually made a bit oversize to allow for final shaping.

I let the resin cure, removed the wire, sanded the ground area and the tab flat, and drilled the hole for the mounting bolt.

If this doesn't make sense, I will take a picture and post it.

Good luck,

Randy

Randy,

That is an excellent write up! My car has the same problem. Pictures would be icing on the cake.

Thanks,
Joe

[David J.]

Re: Repairing the center grille retaining screw support

Randy, your reply is excellent. Thanks for the detailed description, it is exactly what I was looking for. Ron, thanks for the additional suggestion. I have already started gathering the materials. I also agree with Joe that a picture or two would be very helpful if you could send one or two along. Dave