Tighten the screws

O

old soul

Member
On the old cars it seems that a lot of the small screw holes are always stripped or too large for the fastener to tighten in to. Cowl vent/panel, wheel opening mouldings, body trim, weatherstrip, etc.
Going to the next larger fastener is not always an option as many times the screws are specific to the application. Got any tips on how to get the original fasteners to tighten up in these worn out holes?
 
Some holes I MIG shut and re-drill them. Others I am able to hammer peen (with a dolly behind it) smaller but that works for light weight self tapping fasteners. Of course this is before paint.

Mike
 
Bend a short piece of small gauge copper wire and put it in the hole, it will take up some space and allow the screw to get some bite. It's not a perfect solution, but sometimes it works when other methods would just be too invasive at the stage the problem is discovered.
 
you can also try wrapping a small wire around the threads of the screw which ultimately will make it just a little thicker and fill the hole. Works one time, dont over tighten. If you are sure its final assembly, 5 minute epoxy the screw before inserting it.
 
Epoxy works wonders. I've epoxied screw holes before works like a champ, but once its cured......not so easy to take them out. If you can weld and re-drill that would be ideal.
 
As a non welding solution, if you could get a lump of epoxy to stick to the backside of hole where accessible&; redrill it , this could be ideal. Could try packing it in from the frontside.

Also in some instances you may be able to enlarge hole & use some sort of thread insert
 
I do what Mike does, weld them shut and redrill or if you can get behind them and hammer them flat, that will work sometimes too.
 
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