68 Cuda grill studs............ Any tips ?

[DonnieLawson]

Got the Cuda stripped this weekend , about ready to get it to the body shop , except when I tried to take the grills out , about 1/2 of the studs just turn freely in the grill.....
I soaked then in penetrating oil , cleaned what threads I could reach with a cordless drill and wire brush. Even held one with small vice grips while I used a wrench. It would only slip in he vice grips.
I could buzz them off to get the grill out , but is there a way to replace them once the grill is out .
Any tips , tricks , or advise guy ?????
Thanks
Donnie

 

[4spdragtop]

Sorry Don, cant help you with the grill studs, but ya sure got a nice shop and cuda!! Looks like lots of steel in her.

 

[cudaspaz]

I let mine soak for days and then heated them up with a torch, then sprayed more penetraing oil, used graphite impregnated liquid wrench penetrating oil.
Grabbed tip with (good) vise grips and worked the nut tight/loose/tight /loose until it started moving, then kept wiggling it tight/loose all the way out, kept spraying to get the rust out and new oil in.
i ran a wire brush on the threads to get the rust off.
Some of the studs were too rusted and spun freely in the seat, some snapped off so I lost a couple studs along the way.


I'm sure there are some metal experts here that can tell you how to do it better than I..

 

[d5667]

No expert but I usually take a dremel tool with a cutoff blade and cut down through the nut.Usually takes two cuts and you lose the nut but you can save the stud.

 

[FASTBACK340]

I have a few sets of grilles apart as I'm learning straightening & polishing. What I did was remove the vertical bars that the studs mount in and install speed-clips and I threaded in stainless steel machine screws w/ brass nuts & lock washers. If I get a chance I'll snap a picture of what I did to mine. But you DO have to dis-assemble the grilles, removing those small rivets that I still haven't found a source for yet.

Now you know why those grilles are worth so much. Lots of stamped aluminum that bends and gouges, mounting screws that snap & strip, and very hard to polish & restore.

BTW: Sweet garage and it looks like a nice solid `68 project car. Good luck with your project!

 

[mullinax95]

Cut them off with a dremel and install speed clips with stainless bolt and lock nuts. I replace all of mine this way.

 

[sydcuda]

I replaced a lot of the header panel studs on mine that were either broke or free turning as yours are. Once I got grill out of the header panel I pulled it entirely apart (by drilling out the rivetts) and then drilled out the offending studs from the relevant brackets. I then used a new machine screw with the correct thread size and welded that into a small square piece of sheetmetal cut to size. I ground down the screw head/weld area to allow it to slot back into the grill surround, in the same position as the original stud, without interference (the purpose of welding the screw into the square piece of sheetmetal being to prevent the screw from turning when re-installing the grill into the header panel, same effect as others have achieved by different methods above). I hope I have explained this in a way that can be understood.

I also went to town fixing all the dings etc in the aluminium grill (and had some splits welded up) before sanding and polishing to produce a perfect finish. I initially had the grill re-anodised but it turned out that the anodising would not take to the parts of the out headlight surround which had some splits welded together due to the weld material being a different grade aluminium, so i had the grills chromed (just one coat of chrome over the polished pieces, as recommeded by my chrome shop).

A fair bit or work involved, but well worth it once you have the finished piece!

 

[DonnieLawson]

I guess I'll try again today, it's gotta come off.
I like the stainless bolt, brass washers and speed clip ideas . No corrosion down the road.
One more try this morning then the cutting begins.

That is one sharp grill Sydcuda, Mine has a few dings , but no splits. I hope mine looks that good..............

Any pics are appreciated and needed !
This site has help me so much on the car.
Thanks
Donnie

 

[RedFish]

Drill out all the rivets, take the grilles apart , replace all the studs with 10-24 X 3/4 trim studs. I used stainless nuts on them too.
Pic taken from Mr. Gs Fasteners

 

[DonnieLawson]

What did you use to replace the rivets with ?

 

[RedFish]

What did you use to replace the rivets with ?

pop rivets

Reason I used stainless nuts on cadium plated studs is because if the threads did rust badly the steel head on that T stud could cut through the aluminum at next removal.

 

[mullinax95]

Sorry if this is off topic but like FASTBACK340 said you do have a very nice shop!!!!

I am going to start mine soon.

 

[DonnieLawson]

Thanks for the comments on the shop
It keeps me outa trouble............. until the old lady looks at the checking account and what I'm spending on the Cuda .
Ive been spending alot of time out there this year.

I did find time to get one grill out today , I used a dremel tool to buzz off the ones twisting in the channel.
I will post some pics of my screw ups and the ones I get lucky on.
I spent the most of the day today getting the car ready to get the undercarriage sandblasted and then to the body shop

 

[FASTBACK340]

This is what I did with mine:

Here you can see the speed clip & maching screw w/ stainless washer & nut ( I thought it was brass... my bad)

I also ground down the screw head so it would fit under the trim, as you can see on the right.


I just tapped out the broken stud head using a hammer & punch and a small socket to support the bracket from behind. All the hardware I bought at Sears.

Good luck!

 

[redfastback]

I too, did the stainless route. Remember to anti sieze all the threads, so they can be removed easy down the road. I will be re-restoring my grilles this winter. I did a hasty job on mine, They look pretty good but not as perfect as I wanted.

 

[RedFish]

Everyone does things differently. You would need to try them all to determine whats best.
I find it easier to put the grilles on the header panel before putting the header panel between the fenders. If all the bolt holes in the header panel ends aren't slotted I slot them. The tricky part is getting the header panel between the fenders without scratching the fenders. A helper and some poster paper is recommended.
Lower the hood to check the gap/alignment of the header panel before tightening those bolts. These body panels meet at a radius so there is forgiveness there. What looks and feels right probably isn't when the hood comes down. Hope this makes sense and helps. Good luck

 

[DonnieLawson]

I loaded the Cuda on the trailer to take to the bodyshop today, mother nature decided not to let me , it started raining, So I pulled the trailer back into the barn.
I took the other half of the grill off the header panel today , it only took about 30 min to do. Next I will drill the rivets and replace all the studs with new.
Where can I fine the small rivets at ?
This grill is not for a show car , it doesn't need to be correct , just look good.
Also , what paint can I use for the grill surrounds I have a ding I need to straighten on one side also .
Donnie

 

[RedFish]

I used 1/8 inch diameter steel pop rivets, ez-pull brand from Lowes I think.

as for grille paint... I guess you're asking about the black line? Testors model paint works. You could cover all of the black line with pin stripe tape too. The tape would be a high gloss black though.

 

[cuda1967]

what size is the original nut ? I have to order new nuts, coz our local bolt shop doesn´t have so small nuts, yes originals are missing.

 

[RedFish]

I could be wrong but I think the original studs had 10-32 thread so you would need 10-32 nuts for those. If your new studs are 10-24 thread you'll need 10-24 nuts. Any hardware store should have them.
I wouldn't replace only those broken studs and have mixed sizes though. I replace every stud so the same 10-24 nut fit all of them.

 

['68-340-S]

Last time I worked on my '68 I stoped as soon as those studs started to spin. This is a great thred that I will revisit when I get back ro work on it.

 

[DonnieLawson]

Ive been busy parting out a 67 Cuda , and getting my 68 fastback blasted and to the body shop . I should be able to start back on the grill soon........... I hope
Donnie

 

[Tony Fields]

Drill out all the rivets, take the grilles apart , replace all the studs with 10-24 X 3/4 trim studs. I used stainless nuts on them too.
Pic taken from Mr. Gs Fasteners

I did mine the "RedFish way"

It worked great........I did one several months ago and did the other
this evening. Took about 30-45 minutes.

A little fuzzy, but you can see the new pop rivets.

 

[DonnieLawson]

Tony Fields
Can you take some closer pics of the studs ? and where did you get them ?
Thanks
Donnie

 

[RDJ]

I just happen to be going through this right now. Great thread. I had to cut almost all the bolts to get the grill trim off.

I called Mr. G's today to order the FA 2573 trim clips/studs that Redfish used. However, the guy at Mr. G's said that they are no longer available, and he suggested the FA 4411. It is a little more "rounded" at the back, and would take more grinding to flatten, so I decided I would just go with the bolts/speed clips method since I would have to grind the bolt heads anyway.

Anyway, I'm glad I found this thread, I was wondering how I was going to mount my grill trim.