Thread inserts in roof for the deck lid bolts

I looked at mine, and the pinch weld is cut away to allow the hinges to move forward of the edge.

I know this may not help you now, but when you get it all sorted, and may have to remove the deck lid, don't undo the bolts, take out the pin in the two hinges. That way the deck lid will align perfectly when reinstalled. I've replaced my pins with mm bolts, so taking my deck lid off is a 5 min thing, and realigning is a non-issue.

Now that I think of it, that may help you now after all. Because if you do as I suggest above, you never have to remove the bolts that you have problems with, so if you align with the working threads, you can simply weld the last hole to the body. Not beautiful, but an option.

The only problem I can see with the idea of welding the hinge in place to the roof after alignment is that I clearly see the need to stuff about 4mm worth of shims in there to align the deck lid to the car top. I suppose I could weld shim(s) in place too..

OR I might go ahead and make up a plate that is both shim and threaded hole and same shape as the hinge plate itself..and weld both to each other and to the roof.

Is a) the captured plate turning freely or b)the bolt turning freely?

For a) perhaps start threading two bolts at once to prevent the plate turning or if b) can you tap the plate out to accept a larger thread?

Julian

It is clear that there is a separate "plate" or captured threaded nut or "something like that" behind each hole for each of the three bolts individually on each hinge mount area. That surprises me; I expected to find a single plate with three holes tapped in it..as you alluded to.

On the problem side, two of them are sufficiently captured that the bolts thread in by hand just fine. The remaining one, however, freely "spins" when I try to start the bolt.

I think I would convert it to a two bolt arrangement. That's how mine was when I bought it. I just had to use a thread chaser to get the last two installed.

I thought about leaving it alone with just the two bolts on that side. Reading some of the threads about torn up or bent/stressed deck lids from the lift shocks had me worried a bit though..

Porbably what I'll try..and if it does not seem stable enough then I'll throw some judiciously spaced and placed welds on the hinge to the roof..

...you could as someone previously stated ... push the two pins out and remove the decklid .. to get it out of the way .... remove the 2 bolts which presently are able to be removed ...then take a small taper chisel and tap it in to put pressure down on the insert nut ... and gently back out the bolt ...continuing to tap the chisel in ... worked for me ... once I had it out I tack welded the insert nut.

Ron

All the bolts are out..it came to me that way. But your suggestion is something I'll look in to..I was hoping to find a way to capture that errant nut. I recently restored a '59 TR3A Triumph and it was loaded with captured nuts that were no longer captured..

Updated: Success comes sometimes to those with infinite patience and OCD. I fashioned a "dubbed tap" out of one of the hinge 8mm bolts and went to work worrying the threads clean on that errant captured nut plate that was spinning free. After about 2 solid hours of coaxing it through using only the friction I could achieve by applying pressure to the bolt and worrying the plate against the roof skin...it finally worked through. Another half hour of simply running it in and out a brazilian times and its so loose that I can now run the deck lid bolt through it in seconds, captured be darned.

So on to alignment. Wow. It took about 1/4" of plate to space the hinges off the inner roof enough to come up to something close to proper alignment between the deck lid and the roof top. And now I can open the deck lid. Yeah! I really wanted that detail to be right..I've read all the horror stories on here about the overload deck lid hinge design and consequences thereof.

Next question..does anyone have a quick eye-to-eye measure on a lift cylinder that I could borrow?

If you're looking for replacements you might want to check out the various threads about deck lid shocks. Results DEFINITELY vary.

Thanks..and I had already read many of them as they popped up in the searches I made to try and get to the bottom of my deck hinge bolting problem.

At the moment, however, I was just wanting the extended eye-to-eye cylinder measurement because if there are any lift cylinders buried in all the crates of loose parts that came with this car..I have not run across them yet.

Gilligan, a stone-stock '72 Corte & Cosso decklid shock measures 16-7/8" center to center. Also note- the upper decklid shock eye unscrews on most stock & aftermarket deck shocks so they can often be interchanged on assemblies that come with the wrong ends. Just pick one thats not too stiff or your decklid hinges will again protest. Or go to any Pantera vendor- these are NOT high-dollar items.

Best shock setup on the market in my opinion.

http://pantera.saccrestorations.net/ips147.html

Thank you very much, Boss and Z06; great info in both cases.

For all I know, there is a new set of lift cylinders in the crates (they are chck full of new stuff..) and probably the originals as well.I won't know what all came with this until I inventory all of them and I don't have the space at the moment to do that. For now, just knowing what that distance is supposed to be will be enough that I can finish up the deck lid alignment and fit before removing it again.

quote:

Originally posted by Z06 Pantera:
Best shock setup on the market in my opinion.

http://pantera.saccrestorations.net/ips147.html

Oh..wait..that setup relocates the mounts completely. And in a way that my engineering mind likes!..I've always used the gas shocks that way. (My Early Bronco hood shocks..the hatch lifts I added to my 16' Donzi..any rear door on a hatchback car..) Couldn't figure why the Pantera had them straight up and at such a terrible disadvantage mechanically.

quote:

quote:
Originally posted by Z06 Pantera:
Best shock setup on the market in my opinion.

http://pantera.saccrestorations.net/ips147.html


Oh..wait..that setup relocates the mounts completely. And in a way that my engineering mind likes!..I've always used the gas shocks that way. (My Early Bronco hood shocks..the hatch lifts I added to my 16' Donzi..any rear door on a hatchback car..) Couldn't figure why the Pantera had them straight up and at such a terrible disadvantage mechanically.

Yes, they are engineered the way it should have been done in the first place.

I have a Carbon Fiber Decklid on my car. With the stock shocks the Decklid was lifting and twisting at the hinge area because of the extreme force the stock shocks put on the Decklid when it is in the closed position. They were ruining my Decklid.

With the new, better engineered setup, the Decklid opens and closes as it should, and the Decklid is no longer under extreme pressure that is trying to twist the fragile mounting area of the Decklid...

By the way, thanks for the order!!!!!

quote:

Originally posted by Z06 Pantera:

By the way, thanks for the order!!!!!

LOL..yr welcome. I don't mess around if I can avoid it.