SportWagon Roof Rack Question.

[maurywebber]

Hi all,
Two questions
1. Recently took off the roof rack on my 75 Sportwagon to clean underneath and fix some scratches. Discovered I was missing one of the rubber grommets/nuts for mounting the rack to the roof. Anyone one have any suggestions on where I could find a suitable replacement?
2. Some *##hole thought it would be fun to try some hood surfing on New Years Eve. As a result he left two nice dents on the nose above the grill and and below the hood. I haven't had a chance to investigate how easy it would be to replace or repair this piece. Does it unbolt or will I have to drill out some spot welds as well? I'm not the worlds greatest body man so does anybody have a replacement for this rather than me repairing it?
Any help on either of these questions is most appreciated.
Thanks
Maury Webber

[RallyBob]

Originally Posted by maurywebber 2. Some *##hole thought it would be fun to try some hood surfing on New Years Eve. As a result he left two nice dents on the nose above the grill and and below the hood. I haven't had a chance to investigate how easy it would be to replace or repair this piece. Does it unbolt or will I have to drill out some spot welds as well?

Can't help you with item #1.

RE the dented panel: That panel does not unbolt, and access is very limited from below. Best bet is to 'borrow' or rent a weld-on stud puller to pop the panel back into place.

I've had to do this to quite a few Asconas in the past, since people seem to think that front panel is a nice place to sit on...

Bob

[BQS4]

Originally Posted by maurywebber Hi all, Two questions 1. Recently took off the roof rack on my 75 Sportwagon to clean underneath and fix some scratches. Discovered I was missing one of the rubber grommets/nuts for mounting the rack to the roof. Anyone one have any suggestions on where I could find a suitable replacement? 2. Some *##hole thought it would be fun to try some hood surfing on New Years Eve. As a result he left two nice dents on the nose above the grill and and below the hood. I haven't had a chance to investigate how easy it would be to replace or repair this piece. Does it unbolt or will I have to drill out some spot welds as well? I'm not the worlds greatest body man so does anybody have a replacement for this rather than me repairing it? Any help on either of these questions is most appreciated. Thanks Maury Webber

Maury;
I can help you with the fastener, as I have racks on all my Sportwagons. There's an old ACE hardware in Tucker, GA that has these exact fasteners, in various sizes, and heap too. How big is the hole and how many do you need?

[maurywebber]

Wow, what a fast response, thanks guys.
First off
Thanks Bob, I'll look into the Stud welder dent puller.
BQS4,
When I get home tonight I will measure the hole and PM you? Would that be cool? If ACE has a bunch of these I might as well replace them all, so I would guess eight total.
Thanks again.
Maury

[Gary]

Home Depot carries non-metric ones.

[Rionart]

Just make sure when you put the rack back on you don't get it bass ackwards....

[Gary]

Originally Posted by Rionart Just make sure when you put the rack back on you don't get it bass ackwards....

I was waiting for that one....

[2 Fast 4 U]

that is one bad looking dent, all I have to offer is one tip:
do not start pulling out the dent from the middle but from the sides and gradually work your way to the middle

[oldopelguy]

You might also look into the old basketball trick for those nose dents, (deflate a basketball with a needle and hose inserted into it, slide it in behind the dent, re-inflate) though I don't remember if you can even get back there or not. It's a lot of spot welds to dill out to try and remove that panel, especially if you have to do it twice to get a replacement one off another car.

Oh, and the things holding your roof rack on are called blind nuts, and any hardware or home improvement store should have them. There are also some made that are more like a pop-rivit, out of aluminum or steel, that when installed with the special tool are a lot stronger.