zZArAZz

I am in the process of installing my 505 into my 81. Directly in front of my hood behind the headlights (under the fibreglass)there is a metal bracket that goes across the front end. It is falling apart and chunks are missing. What is that bracket and any suggestions on how to replace it?
It is the only bad rust on the whole car!
Anyone know where to buy a flip front end?
Thanks!!

sb69coupe

That header bar in bonded to the underside of your front hood surround panel. If it's that rusted, what kind of shape is your radiator support in? That piece is pretty vital in supporting the headlamps and the fiberglass across the nose of the car. I'm not aware of any simple way to remove and replace it with the body on the car.

zZArAZz

It is weird because I cant find any other rust spots. The radiator support is in very good condition. I did notice the edge on the hood lifting up slightly on the drivers side. Seems it came lose from the header bar..
So I need to take the front end off?

sb69coupe

You'll have to look up under the surround to see if the header bar is fully accessible without removing the inner fenders. I would think that you'd have to remove all the headlight assemblies, vacuum hoses, front bumper and grill mounts to replace the header. That's no easy task, but it's way better than trying to pop the front end off the car :eek: No way to do that without causing some fiberglass damage. Can you say "repaint"?

The header bar itself is $79 through the Zip restoration store. If it looks like you can get to both ends of the header, it's worth a try to replace it now. If it's so rusted that it's coming apart in chunck, you shouldn't have any problems removing what's left of it.

Shannon

Big Fish

Sorry to hear about the problems with that header reinforcement. Certainly not an easy job. Have you looked at your frame rails and other birdcage parts? Hard to believe that is your only rust. I don't believe the hood problem is related to the header piece because it is hinged on a completely seperate reinforcement.


[Modified by Big Fish, 10:21 PM 8/11/2003]

zZArAZz

I will get a better look at it tommorow. Thanks for the heads up on ZIP!
Hopefully it is accessible..
Thanks for the info!!

UKPaul

I doubt it. When I had the front of my '81 apart I could get to that bar really easy. I had the headlights out, the bumper cover off, the front bumper/impact bar was off & the metal frame that bolts to the front of the frame was off. You may be able to get to it with the bumper cover left in position, I can't remember :confused: I also had the rad & support frame off the car (again, I can't remember if it needs to come out). I cleaned up & painted that bar without any difficulty, so fitting a new one should be an OK job. It'll give you a good opportunity to R&R the headlights while you're at it ;)
:cheers:

NHvette

I was 'lucky' enough to do this job with the nose removed and upside down
on the garage floor (on carpet).
Here are a couple of pictures. I, too am surprised if this is the only rot. (fingers crossed for you)




:seeya

Twin_Turbo

The part that holds the headlights on the hood side is the header bar, the part that holds the lights in the front and the bumper is the nose bar. The nose bar is really easy to replace because it is only riveted in place

I replaced my header bar too because it was basicallyfalling apart and bent. My car was completely rust free but this part had some pits and was in pretty bad shape. It was also coming loose from the fiberglass cause of the rust.

I replaced mine with the front clip off but you can replace it with the clip installed. You have to remove the headlights and the vacuum canister. Removing the radiator and the condensor along with the radiator shroud and frame is necessary too. Then you have to remove the triangular brackets that hold the inner fenders to the header bar. If you've done that all, use a putty knife to get the old one off, clean the area real good, rough it up, also rough the header bar on the glue areas as they come completely painted. Bond it in place with EPOXY adhesive and use plenty of clamps and straight iron etc to clamp it firmly in place. Make sure that especially the ends are bonded tightly in place or the bar will tear off in time. The bar should only mount flush in 1 exact position because of it's and the fiberglass' shape.

The header bar defines the countour of the nose just in front of the hood. Woth the header bar wrong you'll never get the hood to be nicely aligned with the body

Here's some pics (NOTE, I sprayed the inside of the bar with some additional layers of epoxy paint just for added protection since my old one was rusted only on the inside, don't want that to happen again)

zZArAZz

Once again thanks for the help!! Especially from you guys that had the same rust problems. I checked over everything again. Aside from some surface rust which I am taking care of now, I have found no other parts that are rusted out like my header bar. The only reason I could see for its condition would be rain water being forced under from the gap in the rear of the headlights smacking right against the header bar. Anyway thanks!!!!
TwinTurbo: Wow. Thank You!

bnytro

must be a problem with the 80-82 mine is gone too but rest of car rust free

Twin_Turbo

they are very thin gauge steel. The most common problem is the nutplates rusting out, really annoying. When I took my old one off I could easily rip off the nutplates with a pair of vise grips, This is the reason I made sure I properly painted the inside, all the rust seemed to be there. There must be a good bit of moisture buildup in there.


[Modified by Twin_Turbo, 7:02 AM 8/13/2003]

Stewart's74

I replaced mine too. Very easy job. Just remove the lights and vac components and pry the old one off with a putty knife.