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Plastic nuts for your truck's grill got you down by going AWOL or becoming quitters?
Grill rattling like crazy so you can't hear your engine?
Worry no more!! For just a few bucks, a little shipping and some time, you can have a semi-permanent solution for your problems!!
Go from these frowny face situations:
To this, in no time flat! And maybe practice those sheet metal skills just a little bit:
And the tools required...something special? An aligning jig, crucible or a reamer? How about a cheap rivet puller, a drill and a few drill bits (#40, in this case and one a few sizes larger) and maybe a file to help clean up the holes.
Consumables I used are nut plates and rivets. The part numbers I used seem to no longer be available and have been sitting in a warehouse for a LONG time, but very similar and useful part numbers are: MS21061L0xx, where "xx" is a size; 4, 6, or 8, depending on what size screw you'll use. That will get you an appropriately sized threaded nut plate that is self locking, corrosion resistant and way badass. The nut is also floating, to a degree, so you dont have to be 100% spot on in order to get things lined up.
In order to stick them where they need to go, we'll need some rivets. If you have any number 3 pull rivets, those will work, but if you dont have them, a good part number (And there are several you can use...these just happen to be easy to find) is BSP-44. That's an 1/8" rivet that is 1/4" total grip length. More than plenty for what I need here!
Both of these items can be had cheap from Aircraft Spruce.
Here's a picture of what I had:
As I mentioned, the part numbers I gave above will have a slightly different looking fastener, but it'll do the same job: Fit in the limited space Ford used for securing the grill and hold a screw. For the grill, my '79 had 8 mounting tabs, so that'll be 8 nut plates and 16 rivets; but once you get the hang of installing these things, you'll find uses for them everywhere. I've even got some on my mower.
Anyhow, onward!
After removing the plastic inserts (Or having them removed by over 30 years of driving...) hold up one of your nut plates with the flat side against the forward part of the mounting tab. You can put a screw a few threads into it into the back side to give yourself something to hold on to. Whatever you do, you want it on the forward side, with the threaded portion lined up with the square hole in the mounting tab. Once youre happy with the position, use a punch, pen or whatever to mark the location of the two rivet holes you're about to drill.
Once your holes are marked, remove the nut plate and carefully drill your holes with the number 40 drill bit. Remember that we're dealing with aluminum here...and particularly soft aluminum. High bit speeds and light pressure will help you keep the holes straight and proper. When you have them drilled, check to make sure they line up with the holes in the nut plate AND that the hole in the nut plate lines up with the hole in the mounting tab. If they do, then you're golden!
Next step is to clean up your holes. A drill bit a few sizes larger than what you just used works well on the front side, where you have plenty of room:
It just takes a few turns to clean all the junk out of the hole and break the sharp edge around it. A small file will work well on the back to make sure you have a nice, clean, flat surface to mount everything to.
Now that holes are drilled and everything lines up properly, the nut plate can be put in place once and for all!
Flip it to the BACK side of the mounting tab, so that the flat part is facing forward on the vehicle and use your rivets and puller to secure them.
When everything is done, it'll be attached well enough that you can use them as long as the grill mounting tabs hold up...one of mine is almost toast...
They should look a little like this from the front:
And this from the back side:
One down and 7 more to go! Once you've rinsed and repeated, you'll find this as your reward:
The only thing to keep in mind is since the nuts float in the plates, dont tighten down your screws 'till you've gotten them all in; then, be careful not to over tighten on your things on our brittle grill.
This has worked out awesome for me, considering the very minimal requirements as far as work and money, so I thought I'd share with the group.
That looks like a smooth move, now all I have to do is to remember to pick up a pack or 2 the next time I go to Calgary fasteners. The last time I went there they had so many interesting clips and fasteners it got confusing. I should take some pics next time so as to figure all the places they can be used. Thanks for your advice on my alarm, it worked quite well, woke up all the neighbours but it caught the wrong fish. The kid wanted my battery. We sure had a good laugh watching him rubbing his face. The little Napolean Policia werent as impressed. Thanks again for the tips, they sure are helpful.
That crack is what I was talking about when I mentioned one of the tabs on it's last legs. The aluminum is so soft, even threading in a screw into the worn plastic thingy opened it up.
I'm trying to decide if it's worth replacing, but I'll probably cut that one smooth when it breaks, then rivet an extension in it's place and continue along.
That DOES take some tools that aren't common, so I won't bother posting anything about it.
I figured this one only took two drill bits and a cheap rivet puller, so anyone could give it a shot. I couldn't find the plastic inserts when I looked and I was in a mood to do something fun. What's more fun than drilling stuff and sharing pictures??
