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rkwfxd Samba Member
Joined: March 17, 2013 Posts: 107 Location: Whittier
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Posted: Thu Oct 03, 2019 5:38 pm Post subject: How did you attach your baja engine cover? |
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Howdy,
Just got my Mark V kit today so I am looking at a couple of installation options.
I guess the simplest is to use some sheet metal screws. But folks have been building bajas for decades and I am looking for suggestions that might be a bit cleaner or tricker or cooler than basic sheet metal screws.
Unless of course sheet metal screws were and still are the peak of baja bug engine cover attachment.
TIA |
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earthquake Samba Member
Joined: January 10, 2008 Posts: 3984 Location: SANDY VALLEY, NEVADA
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Posted: Fri Oct 04, 2019 1:28 am Post subject: Re: How did you attach your baja engine cover? |
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I am going to use Dzus quarter turn fasteners when I do mine so I can take it off easier to work on the engine. you can rivet or weld the tabs to the car.
Casey _________________ 74 CLASS 11 LOOK-A-LIKE
69 DUNE BUGGY
79 INTERNATIONAL SCOUT II
05 SCION XB SERIES RELEASE 2[#437]
95 Chevy C3500 dually
98 Ford E150
Link to Kelly J. Nolte 3/20/53 - 11/6/08
https://time-zonelabs.blogspot.com/p/about-kelly.html
DEATH TO CHINGERS!
[From a military recruitment poster in the novel "The Stainless Steel Rat" By Harry Harrison] |
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rkwfxd Samba Member
Joined: March 17, 2013 Posts: 107 Location: Whittier
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Posted: Fri Oct 04, 2019 7:31 am Post subject: Re: How did you attach your baja engine cover? |
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earthquake wrote: |
I am going to use Dzus quarter turn fasteners when I do mine so I can take it off easier to work on the engine. you can rivet or weld the tabs to the car.
Casey |
Other than deciding to use these, have you looked into them or do you have experience with them?
They look great and appear to work great so I looked into them a bit. I now know more about Dzus (quarter turn) fasteners than I ever thought I would. Except for one thing. LOL
Do they come in different lengths? I have yet to find a source that lists them in different lengths and it looks to me like they have all been designed to attached two fairly thin pieces of metal together with no gaps in between.
My fiberglass engine cover/air scoop is about 1/8" inch thick. Also, while the very outside edge sits flush on the bug body, from there it rises up and creates a gap between the body and the scoop. Then you have the paper thin metal of the bug body.
So any dzus I get will need to go through 1/8" of fiberglass, a gap of ?" distance between the scoop and body depending on how close I mount it to the edge and finally the bug body.
I have researched how to adjust the spring tension but haven't found different length fasteners.
Or is there simply enough available adjustment in the spring and the standard fasteners long enough to account for what I am guessing might be up to 1/2" in length?
Anyone know? And Dzus experts here?
TIA |
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Cody Loren Samba Member
Joined: April 23, 2018 Posts: 118 Location: Cucamonga ca
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rkwfxd Samba Member
Joined: March 17, 2013 Posts: 107 Location: Whittier
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Posted: Fri Oct 04, 2019 8:31 am Post subject: Re: How did you attach your baja engine cover? |
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You are awesome. Thank you Sir. |
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earthquake Samba Member
Joined: January 10, 2008 Posts: 3984 Location: SANDY VALLEY, NEVADA
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Posted: Fri Oct 04, 2019 11:37 am Post subject: Re: How did you attach your baja engine cover? |
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I have used a lot of them, you do need to get the tension right or the will fall out. I try to get the tab up against the panel, I put the tab in a brake and put a "Z" bend in to do it. I also us stiffener plates on the face of the panel to prevent pull through.
If you really to hold the panel use "CamLoc"s, they hold very tight but they are more expensive.
https://www.aircraftspruce.com/menus/ha/fast_1camloc.html
Casey _________________ 74 CLASS 11 LOOK-A-LIKE
69 DUNE BUGGY
79 INTERNATIONAL SCOUT II
05 SCION XB SERIES RELEASE 2[#437]
95 Chevy C3500 dually
98 Ford E150
Link to Kelly J. Nolte 3/20/53 - 11/6/08
https://time-zonelabs.blogspot.com/p/about-kelly.html
DEATH TO CHINGERS!
[From a military recruitment poster in the novel "The Stainless Steel Rat" By Harry Harrison] |
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BFB Samba Member
Joined: November 03, 2014 Posts: 1757
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Posted: Fri Oct 04, 2019 3:13 pm Post subject: Re: How did you attach your baja engine cover? |
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i used " nutzerts" they are a threaded insert that are installed like a pop rivet. these are used on semi's alot and im sure a million other things. i can bolt and unbolt parts as needed.
oh yeh, and their fairly cheap too |
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weasel_ugs Samba Member
Joined: March 16, 2012 Posts: 721 Location: Prescott Valley,Az.
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Posted: Fri Oct 04, 2019 8:29 pm Post subject: Re: How did you attach your baja engine cover? |
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richardcraineum wrote: |
i used " nutzerts" they are a threaded insert that are installed like a pop rivet. these are used on semi's alot and im sure a million other things. i can bolt and unbolt parts as needed.
oh yeh, and their fairly cheap too |
Mine has these as well, just run a machine screw through the fiberglass into the fastener thats attached to the body. |
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rkwfxd Samba Member
Joined: March 17, 2013 Posts: 107 Location: Whittier
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Posted: Fri Oct 04, 2019 10:42 pm Post subject: Re: How did you attach your baja engine cover? |
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I used nutzerts on my jeep and still have some laying around. Not a bad idea. I already have them, know how to use and install them and the length of fastener and tension on the spring is not an issue. Plus, how often am I really going to need to remove the engine cover? |
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ekacpuc Samba Member
Joined: December 08, 2010 Posts: 1414 Location: ketchikan alaska
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Posted: Sat Oct 05, 2019 3:35 pm Post subject: Re: How did you attach your baja engine cover? |
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You guys are fancy.
I took 4 extra 8mm bolts and cut the heads off them then welded them to the car. I drilled holes in the engine cover to match and got some nuts/washers. Easy.
There’s a Baja in town that’s riveted on. Clearly he hasn’t synced the carbs in awhile though. |
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DHale_510 Samba Member
Joined: August 27, 2010 Posts: 378 Location: Nampa Idaho
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Posted: Sun Oct 06, 2019 9:10 am Post subject: Re: How did you attach your baja engine cover? |
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Maybe you can see a silver wing nut thing from this photo. I now have threaded nutserts and hardware store "thumb knobs" in 1/4 x 20. They replaced some home made ones made from wing nuts screwed all the way to the head on some allen screws. I was able to drill some little holes in them and use a spring to keep them in place, until I left the springs off one day...
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earthquake Samba Member
Joined: January 10, 2008 Posts: 3984 Location: SANDY VALLEY, NEVADA
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Posted: Sun Oct 06, 2019 9:48 am Post subject: Re: How did you attach your baja engine cover? |
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DHale_510 wrote: |
Maybe you can see a silver wing nut thing from this photo. I now have threaded nutserts and hardware store "thumb knobs" in 1/4 x 20. They replaced some home made ones made from wing nuts screwed all the way to the head on some allen screws. I was able to drill some little holes in them and use a spring to keep them in place, until I left the springs off one day...
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You got some "Dumps" in that Baja or did you blow out a center adjuster?
What happened to the pink 510?
Casey _________________ 74 CLASS 11 LOOK-A-LIKE
69 DUNE BUGGY
79 INTERNATIONAL SCOUT II
05 SCION XB SERIES RELEASE 2[#437]
95 Chevy C3500 dually
98 Ford E150
Link to Kelly J. Nolte 3/20/53 - 11/6/08
https://time-zonelabs.blogspot.com/p/about-kelly.html
DEATH TO CHINGERS!
[From a military recruitment poster in the novel "The Stainless Steel Rat" By Harry Harrison] |
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dustymojave Samba Member
Joined: January 07, 2007 Posts: 5802 Location: Lake LA, Mojave Desert, SoCal
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Posted: Sun Oct 06, 2019 5:07 pm Post subject: Re: How did you attach your baja engine cover? |
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Rich, do you have the scoop type rear cover? or the plain cover like mine? Mine is the plain type and is held in with a pair of hood pins at the lower outer corners. But I haven't been using my cover since I changed to a pair of dual carbs that the air cleaners for stand a little high for "hood" clearance.
The hood pins are really cool little 3/8" pins. I haven't seen any others since the 1970s. But it wouldn't be difficult to take a 3/8 fine thread bolt and chuck it in a drill press, use a hack saw to cut the head off while spinning, then use a file to round or even make a bullet point on the tip. Then cross drill for a clip or lynch pin. 1/2" pins cost about $9-$12/pair.
With a scoop type "hood", then a pair of hood pins set into the body beside the drip rail would work.
For dzus pins, the tab NEEDS to be up against the back side of the fiberglass. Having a gap does not work. But a dzus plate can be attached to the body with sheet metal screws, rivets, nut-serts, welded or brazed. _________________ Richard
Offroading VW based cars since 1965
Tech Inspection 1963 - 2012 SCCA/SCORE/HDRA/MORE/MDR +
Retired from building Bajas, Fiberglass Buggies and Rails in the Mojave Desert. Also Sprints & Midgets, Dry Lakes, Road Race cars. All types New and Vintage
SoCalBajas Member
Kicked Cancer's A$$...1st and 2nd round...Fight ain't over yet. |
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DHale_510 Samba Member
Joined: August 27, 2010 Posts: 378 Location: Nampa Idaho
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Posted: Mon Oct 07, 2019 11:27 am Post subject: Re: How did you attach your baja engine cover? |
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The heavily notched spring plates broke at the same time while travelling at maybe 60mph over a washboard surface in Panamint Valley, just skimming the tops of the ruts, at the President's Day Redwood Buggy club event. For the only time of the weekend we were in reach, in fact in sight, of the campground and I was able to drive the camper and trailer right to the car.
The pink 510 lives in my fancy barn right across from the Baja Bug.
Dennis |
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rkwfxd Samba Member
Joined: March 17, 2013 Posts: 107 Location: Whittier
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Posted: Tue Oct 08, 2019 8:23 am Post subject: Re: How did you attach your baja engine cover? |
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dustymojave wrote: |
Rich, do you have the scoop type rear cover? or the plain cover like mine? Mine is the plain type and is held in with a pair of hood pins at the lower outer corners. But I haven't been using my cover since I changed to a pair of dual carbs that the air cleaners for stand a little high for "hood" clearance.
The hood pins are really cool little 3/8" pins. I haven't seen any others since the 1970s. But it wouldn't be difficult to take a 3/8 fine thread bolt and chuck it in a drill press, use a hack saw to cut the head off while spinning, then use a file to round or even make a bullet point on the tip. Then cross drill for a clip or lynch pin. 1/2" pins cost about $9-$12/pair.
With a scoop type "hood", then a pair of hood pins set into the body beside the drip rail would work.
I have the "scoop" style.
I do have a small Sherline lathe so machining up some pins would be fun.
Thank you for the top about the need to mount the Dzus tab up next to the panel. That actually solves several problems. Those mounting tabs are readily available and I can weld those to the outside of the body so that they are up against the cover - no gap. I think that is even easier than the nutzerts.
Still a ways away though. I spent most of yesterday just trying to mount the hood so that it would open and close without a interference and a loud CRACK as it opened up. It is also pretty much centered now. But I am not sure that is a good thing because the ONLY this straight on this car is the 1/2" of Bondo.
And I hate to remove the Bondo because every time I do I find more rust holes.
LOL . Awesome candidate for a baja. Gonna be killer. : -)
For dzus pins, the tab NEEDS to be up against the back side of the fiberglass. Having a gap does not work. But a dzus plate can be attached to the body with sheet metal screws, rivets, nut-serts, welded or brazed. |
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