Tube frame bodywork fastening

[ORANGECRUSHer]

I am getting up the courage to cut up a big sheet of aluminum to finally start covering my rig.
Before I do I'm wondering if there is a trick to affixing it to the frame of a completed rig without welding a bunch of tabs everywhere. I'm thinking someone's got a clever way of sandwiching or a clamping mechanism that I need to see so please share some pics of what you got that isn't a tab with a screw through it.
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Brian H.
I may not know everything,but I will try to help if I can
OrangeCrushER Berrien Warrior 2.4L Quad4
LAZY MARY 1970 Baja 1835cc

[PhillipM]

Tabs with rivnuts in them

I did come up with an alternative for my side windows - they bolt to P-clips wrapped around the tube frame, you could do that.

[ORANGECRUSHer]

P-clips? I'm not familiar
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Brian H.
I may not know everything,but I will try to help if I can
OrangeCrushER Berrien Warrior 2.4L Quad4
LAZY MARY 1970 Baja 1835cc

[ORANGECRUSHer]

I just went down the dzuz spiral. It's the correct way to do it. Not sure it's the way I want to do it. Maybe not for all of it. I want a louvered panel over my engine and that would be nice to have some wingnut style dzuz 1/4 turns so I can take it off quick. But for the side panels? I won't need to be removing those all that much. The hood might have to come off for brake fluid or a burnt out fuse in the console.

I think I'm not getting away from welding tabs either way. Unless I see some novel idea here which I'm not holding my breath. The way the Samba is lately, you just never know.
_________________
Brian H.
I may not know everything,but I will try to help if I can
OrangeCrushER Berrien Warrior 2.4L Quad4
LAZY MARY 1970 Baja 1835cc

[PhillipM]

P-clips, like you'd use for securing brake or fuel lines. These:

[ORANGECRUSHer]

Ah! ok that's a great idea. I see how that could make a hinge attachment too.
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Brian H.
I may not know everything,but I will try to help if I can
OrangeCrushER Berrien Warrior 2.4L Quad4
LAZY MARY 1970 Baja 1835cc

[Dale M.]

Adel clamps....

https://www.improvedracing.com/search/Adel%20clamps

With philips head screws and elastic lock nuts....
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“Fear The Government That Wants To Take Your Guns" - Thomas Jefferson.

"Kellison Sand Piper Roadster" For Street & Show.
"Joe Pody Sandrover" Buggy with 2180 for Autocross (Sold)
============================================================
All suggestions and advice are purely my own opinion. You are free to ignore them if you wish ...

[PhillipM]

Yea, they're just rubber-lined P-clips here

[ORANGECRUSHer]

[ORANGECRUSHer]

Phillip,
You're rig always intrigues me. I think we could have a time standing around our buggies and sipping a beer. My aim is never to copy what someone else does but sometimes seeing someone else's take on a solution gives me my own ideas and pulls me out of my narrow thought processes.

There's a lot to look at whenever I look at your rig. I'm wondering, is your hood hinged? It looks like you have it tilted forward in one of those pics. I'm curious how fancy you got with this. I need to hinge my hood or make an access panel as my center console contains all the important electrical doo-dads and I don't want to have to stand on my head in the passenger seat in order to get in there. I was envisioning a hinge at the middle, but maybe at the front would be better(simpler)? Obviously, one wouldn't want to get too sloppy with a hinged hood and have it slapping around or rattling making a racket.
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Brian H.
I may not know everything,but I will try to help if I can
OrangeCrushER Berrien Warrior 2.4L Quad4
LAZY MARY 1970 Baja 1835cc

[ORANGECRUSHer]

I've kinda relegated my panels to being secured with dzus, but I don't know why I couldn't use threaded backup plates welded to the frame and just use bolts or screws through holes in the panel and having some kind of retaining washer on the inside to keep the fastener from coming off when removed. Maybe a painted fender washer under the fastener? This way I would be using common materials. The retaining washer would be the tricky bit.
_________________
Brian H.
I may not know everything,but I will try to help if I can
OrangeCrushER Berrien Warrior 2.4L Quad4
LAZY MARY 1970 Baja 1835cc

[PhillipM]

[cbeck]

Doesn't empi sell aluminum clamps with a flat area and a threaded hole? Clamp on tab. Think they were for 1.5"tube.
Went to appletree and searched clamp. Maybe find something that will do what you want.
https://www.appletreeauto.com/?target=search&mode=search&substring=Clamp&including=all
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My cut in half and rebuild thread
www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=647779

[earthquake]

I would stay away from Dzus fasteners, they vibrate and fall out, maybe Camloc's they are much better.

eQ
_________________
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Link to Kelly J. Nolte 3/20/53 - 11/6/08
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[ORANGECRUSHer]

I'm not gonna argue with you because I could care less about Dzus and their rep, but I will say that dzus are used extensively in aviation so I would dare say the failures your experiencing are probably due to lack of quality installation and attention to detail. If it goes together sloppy, then yeah, a 1/4 turn fastener is gonna jiggle loose as tension is all you've got holding it together.
_________________
Brian H.
I may not know everything,but I will try to help if I can
OrangeCrushER Berrien Warrior 2.4L Quad4
LAZY MARY 1970 Baja 1835cc

[ORANGECRUSHer]

I just looked at camlocs and they're interesting
_________________
Brian H.
I may not know everything,but I will try to help if I can
OrangeCrushER Berrien Warrior 2.4L Quad4
LAZY MARY 1970 Baja 1835cc

[PhillipM]

I have aerocatches on the front, and just pins on the back