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Wed Jun 11, 2008 6:46 am

Okay, so I replaced my rear package tray.

Now I am putting a replacement firewall in, and the old panel is so far way better than the new one...

The old one had:

triangle spikes to grab the tarboard
no large 2 inch hole built into it

So now, since I kept the old lower firewall, that is the only thing gripping the new firewall tarboard, because it has the old triangle spikes that I was able to pount the tarboard onto. The new panel has these short little screws welded on, with a weird thread that I couldn't find at lowes even in the metric nuts, and to top it off, the little screws are SHORTER than the thickness of the firewall. So my firewall is hangin out loose along the large vertical section of the package tray like a loose roof shingle :shock:

Does anybody know what kinda nut goes onto these little screws sticking out along the new tray, and also, will I have to drill holes into the back of the new package tray and put my own screws through it to hold it?

I really hate to drill holes through a brand new panel...

Wed Jun 11, 2008 7:37 pm

Not exactly sure on this but was talking to a guy on this same subject at a car show. Nuts do not go on those screws. If I remember right, they are not actually threaded, just ridged and look like threads. He had what appeared to be black plastic caps on the outside of the tar board. They were like 1/2 inch in diameter, flat against the TB, and I think they just pushed on to the studs. The ridges on the screws hold the cap on. They held the TB on very nice. Have no idea where he got them...sorry I can not be more help.

Sun Jun 15, 2008 7:52 am

Yeah, y'know I think I have seen something like that at Lowes. Like Baby carraige wheel press on axle caps. There is a box full of different types of these.

Thanks,
I will try those. It's just gonna be tricky since I would say the studs coming off from the new package tray back are too short (pretty much the same length as the thickness of the tarboard :shock:

But I guess maybe its just a 'press em on real hard' situation...

Sun Jun 15, 2008 10:31 am

Marcon3001 wrote: I would say the studs coming off from the new package tray back are too short (pretty much the same length as the thickness of the tarboard :shock:

that's the right length. too long and the tarboard would be loose.

the plastic pieces should look like a little carriage bolt with a hole in the shank. just make sure that the shank on whatever plastic pieces you find are as short or shorter than the studs. you can cut them down if needed.

that actually sounds like a cleaner setup than the spikes

Sun Jun 15, 2008 9:27 pm

I replaced the package tray a bit ago with the new one (screws, etc.) I ended up welding up the hold for the engine check plug. I also cut off the screws and welded on some homemade spikes like og and it looked nice installed. I thought about finding some nuts for the screws, but they barely made it though the tar board when I test installed it.

Mon Jun 16, 2008 5:09 pm

Yeah, that was pretty much my experience. I ended up drilling holes and placing a bar across the center of the tarboard, using bolts to hold it fast. So much for stock. Dang it.

I'll still try some of those carriage wheel snaps on the ends of those screws, but if I could have known, I would have welded new triangles onto the new panel before installing it. On the bottom original firewall that I didn't replace, those things held the new tarboard fast.

- MW