Broken mount for header panel... Now what?

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

I was bolting the header panel on my Cutlass today and the mounting lug for the upper fender bolt snapped off. I also have several holes that no longer hold bolts in the top of the header panel, and will need to fix them as well. Does anyone know of a good solution as to how I can glue this back together? My instincts say to use JB Weld reinforced with fiberglass mat, but I am open to other suggestions. I do not want to do anything that will potentially harm the paint as I do not have the cash to repaint it.

 

[Doober]

In my case, I broke my header panel when driving on the road and hit a tree.

I'm sorry, but I am really :lol: ing at this, only because it's an extreme comparison to 85's dilemma

He just repainted the entire car, so I'm guessing that's not the route he wants to take.

What does the break look like? Is it the fiberglass itself? Just the bolt? One of my thoughts are going a stud route if that's feasible, possibly epoxy some threaded stock into the holes, and use nuts to retain the parts you need. I know in some cases this isn't exactly an easy task, it's just a thought

 

[Longroof79]

Perhaps if you're able to take a pic or two of the broken area, we could help suggest a repair solution.

 

[Longroof79]

I don't know about using JB Weld, but you might consider some of the Evercoat products.. Fiber tech, Tiger Hair, etc.

http://www.evercoat.com/productDetail.aspx?pID=269

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

The fiberglass is what broke off. It is a cylindrical part of the original fiberglass piece that the stud screws in to. I have to take it off the car to show it, but am going to fix a few other things before then. I'll probably have it off on Monday and can take some pics then.

As for replacing the whole thing, that would be a bit expensive for me to do right now. I would have to buy paint, clear, primer and a new panel. Unfortunately, there is no money in the budget for that, and besides, good header panels are getting hard to find. This one took me 6 months of junkyard searching before a suitable candidate with no cracks became available. Unfortunately, the mounting issue was not anticipated before paint, or I would have strengthened the area.

 

[el_sonoma]

Nay, on the JB Weld.
I suggest panel bonding adhesive/plastic repair, I think you should be able to get a small kit at your local parts store, for a reasonable price.

 

[custom442]

fiberglass resin, there's no substitute for that. If it's the upper header it should be an easy fix as that is all fiberglass from the factory. Just tear up some mat into little strips and mix it in for a nice glue (more fiberglass cloth mixed = thicker glue) that wont run. Resin is super strong stuff, I doubt you need a cloth on top of it to make it stronger, reinforce on both sides

edit - if you're worried about the paint just tape it off over and over and over again, then take it off when the resin is a little cured but not completely dry yet, so you can wipe off the tiny bit that the tape might have missed

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

Already fixed it weeks ago with the JB Weld (JB Quick, actually) and it is holding up just fine. I cleaned it with a Dremel and cut V grooves in the cracks before doing it. I then ground the holes to the right size and everything torqued down just fine with no issues. JB Weld has more uses than you would think and works very well when used properly. In fact, I just used it to epoxy down a little bit of chrome that was peeling on my interior door panel last night. I have even used it to patch rust holes in non structural areas that were thoroughly de-rusted beforehand.