Ducktail grille and license plate light fitment

[Mike O'Meara]

The three upper grille bolts are not long enough to pass completely through the fiberglass in order to get a nut on them, and using longer bolts would mean disassembling the grille rivets, which I don't want to do. What solutions to this have been used by y'all? Also, there is not enough clearance to mount the license plate lights underneath the framework of the lid, where they originally reside. Should I mount them on the outside of the frame or does anyone have another idea?

[Christien]

I just put nuts on the ones that reached and placed the others in without any nuts on them, just so it looks right. They hold tight, so I'm not worried about them falling out, but if yours are loose maybe just use a bit of glue.

The license plate light is another issue altogether which I haven't solved. Technically that means it's illegal to drive at night I think. I'll be interested to see what other people's solutions have been.

Chris

[skinnerd]

I think some people have used the license plate bolts that light up...maybe sold at Pepboys and the like.

[Mike O'Meara]

Well, I've answered the second question myself. I made an opening just wide enough to allow the body of the light to fit through, and just long enough to allow the raised section of the lens to come back out. The rubber gasket fills the widened section on each side of the raised lens. I used a curved piece of sheet metal as a "hand" to reach under and behind the framework of the tail in order to hold the light body up in place while I started the screws.

[Christien]

That looks really good. I'd like to try that myself. What did you use to cut into the fibreglass?

[Mike O'Meara]

I used a cutoff wheel to make the longer cuts and then drilled holes close to the corners. Then I used a file to square the ends and adjust the width where needed.

[Zeke]

AFA the grill, can't you grind a bit off the underside making it flat and thinner so you can get a few turns on a nut? Also, there are 2 kinds of looking nuts, the usual Nylok and a pinch version that is thinner and starts to "lock" sooner. No need for as many threads exposed.

There's always liquid threadlocker. Use a real thin wahser or none at all.