Dzus Fasteners

[jamesjedi]

I want to attach GT-Racing fiberglass w/Dzus fasteners. Which type/size do I want? Any help....as always is appreciated. Thanks!

I am not sure if that is the correct spelling for Dzus?

[Flieger]

That spelling is correct. I am not sure on sizing. I only see one size being used for Porsche bodywork.

Kevin Mentzer at Automotive Innovations and Restorations did my car's bodywork. If you contact him, he can probably help you out.
Automotive Innovations and Restoration | autoinno | Los Angeles Porsche Body and Paint

Here you can see some photos of my car: Mechanical - a set on Flickr

Clickable photos:

[wildcat077]

That is the correct spelling ... There aree many types of Dzus fasteners that we use in the aerospace industry and the ones shown in your pictures are the correct ones for a race car although i prefer the Philips head type for more positive feel.
I crew for a friend's GT1 race car (A tube frame Roush Mustang,not a Porsche GT1)and we did the whole bodywork with that type of fastener !

A good place to look would be any aerospace supplies vendor,i could try to get you a part # from work if you need !

Cheers !
Phil

[pgeorgeson]

pm sent

[hangar21]

Dzus fasteners??? I'm new to the site and appreciate all the knowledge and experience. You might check "Aircraft spruce & specialty", located in SoCal. There are plenty of better type fasteners than Dzus. As an aircraft mechanic I use numerous types of fasteners. While Dzus will work, there are plenty of other types, I don't know any of the rules so I can't comment on what is allowed and what type fasteners are not. One of my favorite type fastener is a "Camloc" with an adjustable receptacle. Skybolt hardware makes several types. Hope this helps

Terry
1987 911 cab

[James Brown]

All though the other fasteners, camlock, skybolt, to name a few, are not made for the stress of racing like the big Dzus ones are. i change 3-4 skybolt cowling mounts every 100 hr inspection on several aircraft. At 30 bucks each, there not very heavy duty.

[hangar21]

James,
I have my engine cowling (Pitts S1-S) covered with them and haven't had any problems. Aircraft has over 300 hours of aerobactic time, Thanks for the heads up.

Terry

[JP911]

I just used dzus to attach fiberglass bumpers to my '74. IMO, the most important measurement is the length of the 'stud' on the fastener. Length will be dictated by how thick your fiberglass is, what you will use to mount the 'spring' and how you mount the 'spring'.

[Mahler9th]

I have some experience hanging fiberglass panels on 911s with Dzus-style quarter turn fasteners, and have learned a few tricks along the way. The last one I worked on that wasn't mine was a buddy's car up in Orinda (not JP911...).

On my car, the nose is held on by four fasteners, the rear bumper with just two, and the rear quarter panels by six each. A decent number of cars in our area with the same bodywork have used the same scheme.

I buy most of my Dzus-style fasteners from Racer Parts Wholesale. I suggest starting with a bunch of each length they sell. I usually only suggest one height for the spring as those can be shimmed with washers easily. Pegasus in New Berlin, WI has a 1 or 2 Dzus fasteners with longer lengths than what is available from RPW (at least that used to be true) so I recommend some of those on hand as well. Summit Racing is also a great place to get various lengths of this style of fastener at a reasonable cost.

Pegasus sells a weld plate with the spring already attached, and I use these on the front and rear bumpers. Summit sells something similar I think. These are very handy to have when you start out.

A good rivet gun, rivets and 1/8 inch drill bits are of course necessary. A key tool is a stepped drill bit... one brand is Unibit.

It helps to have spare fasteners, springs and plates at the track.

[jamesjedi]

Thanks to all for the insight.

[Jeroen]

Get some clecko's too

[Flieger]

BTW, it is a b!atch to line up those fasteners on my quarter panel. They are all at different angles and there seems to be some preload in the springy fiberglass panel. The hardest part is the quarter window rubber seal.

I laid on the ground and looked at the back side of the fastener and gave instructions to my Dad on how to maneuver the panel and when the Dzus was fully engaged.

[KTL]

Another source is HRP World and ProRaceStore.com

Race Car Body Latchs, Dzus Fasteners and Repair Materials

Chris Streit (cstreit) here on Pelican runs ProRaceStore and he can probably share some of the availability/sizing details if needed

[cashflyer]

Originally Posted by James Brown

I change 3-4 skybolt cowling mounts every 100 hr inspection on several aircraft. At 30 bucks each, there not very heavy duty.

And they are a cheap grade of stainless.
The ones on my 172 were installed less than one year ago and are starting to produce rust streaks. And yes, they are genuine Skybolt.

[James Brown]

Skybolts and Camlocs have always given me headaches. They rust out and the rubber falls off. The best ones are the spring captured Dzus ones are the best but they rust also but there metal on metal, very robust and cheap.

[TimT]

I think you can buy Dzus fasteners directly from the manufacturer. They are made about 10 miles from my house.

Dzus history

Having built a few cars with panel fasted with Dzus or cam-lock fasteners I don't think I would do it again..

[scottb]

All sorts of fasteners, including Dzus, here: Fasteners from Aircraft Spruce

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by TimT

Having built a few cars with panel fasted with Dzus or cam-lock fasteners I don't think I would do it again..

Just curious... why not?

[TimT]

Just curious... why not?

Because installing all the Dzus on various surfaces, and getting everything to work together is a pain in the ass, very time consuming, and the justification that it make it easy to "replace" damaged body work is flawed..

If your car goes off and you go agricultural... chances are you will have to replace every Dzus spring and tab that was on the "host" to fasten the splitter/cap..

For example I posted a pic of my personal car above... rears quarters Dzused on...

If I did it again, I would bond the quarters on

[Mahler9th]

For me the general advantage is service access. And for the front bumper, convenience as I have to remove it before loading my car on the trailer.

For the rear bumper, convenience is also important as I remove it sometimes when I race.