Antique & Classic Cars Blog

With a self-imposed deadline of June ‘08 for finishing the, uh, leisurely V8-in-a-TR6 project, something needs to happen each week. The present task was to prepare the front turn signals and side marker lights. I thought this would involve cleaning them up a bit and installing new lenses–the old ones were crazed or cracked or both.

Digging back into the turn-signals box (each removed part was placed in a marked container) I discovered (remembered? re-discovered?) that the lens mounting holes on one light fixture were, well, gone. The car had been in a front end accident sometime before I got it and relatively well fixed. But the pot-metal light housing on that side must have cracked at its lens mounting screws. When I went to remove the lens to remove the fixture, they fell right off.

First conclusion was junk, replace. This was because the mounting holes were not just anchors: they also were stops that the screws would pull the lens down to and no further–allowing the lens to seat snug and watertight but not be pulled so far that it would crack. In other words, they have to be at the exact right height and angle. Even if fixing the pot metal housing were possible, how would one get the fix so precise?

But the holidays are a leisurely time with opportunity for scheming about car stuff. Threaded spacers, available at the local hardware store 100 yards from my house, look an awful lot like the original mounting points. What if I took some leftover JB Weld and mounted a pair in the holes at the right height and angle? I could put the mounting screws through the lens from the opposite side to hold them in exactly the right spot as I “welded” them. Hey, stores were closed anyway–why not give it a try?

First job was to cut some grooves in the aluminum spacers so the JB Weld could get a good purchase. (2 photos up)

Next, hold the spacers in place with the mounting screws. (3 photos up)

Then, put one blob of JB Weld on the spacer, flaring out the top to form a flange for the lens housing to sit on. Then set the housing in place, put another blob of “weld” on the back side and squeeze it into place to fill the holes and secure the new mounting points. A little wax paper taped to the inner lens ensured the JB Weld didn’t get greedy and grab more than the spacer.

Welded fixture was left upright on a piece of wood for about an hour (label says the JB Weld hardens in 20 minutes but I had time).

Result: not bad. A little silver paint completed the fix and the new lenses both screwed down snug and in place. Moss Motors lists the turn signal housing as not available, so this fix was definitely worth it. The spacers and screws cost about a dollar. The amount of JB Weld involved couldn’t have been much more. Just how strong this product is I can’t say, but holding a plastic lens in place will not test its limits. Only one who will know this isn’t an unrestored, perfect lens housing is me. And, uh, all of you.

Our cat, Dean, wasn’t directly involved in the repair but since he must get himself into most everything that happens, he was present and generally in the way–but happy. He struck this angelic pose on the 25th–a complete ruse.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 26th, 2007 at 3:52 pm and is filed under Car parts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.