repair advice required...!

So this is probably the worst bit of ‘tub’ damage from my recent ‘mishap’… (thankfully!)

The hole is where a bonded in bobbin used to be - this was being used to secure a twistloc recepticle …which got ripped out… (I still have the bobbin). Options I am considering…

  1. Fabricate a new ‘corner’, prob in ally, with a captive nut, and rivet in place. Not wild about that solution - will look a bit of a bodge…

  2. Attempt to bond the old bobbin back in… tricky to make it strong and neat as I can’t get in behind

  3. Make a new corner out of glass fibre with a bobbin bonded in, and cut damaged area back and stitch new one in using a greater bonded surface area… maybe use other side as a template/mold… time consuming!

  4. Cut that corner from a scrap tub and bond in as (3)… my preferred option, but would need to source a donor!

Any other ideas, thoughts or suggestions welcome!

Options 3) & 4) sound like the most effective.

Could you take a mold from an undamaged panel, if there’s anyone local to you who would let you do that?

If you scuff back the paint/gelcoat so you’re down to the underlying glass, that would give the best base for adhesion.

In think the other side is pretty much the same shape… So could use as a mold… But i think my best bet is to find a donor… Anyone got one? (so that’ll be more rocking horse shit I’m after!)

Damn! I would have offered mine for taking a mould but have just checked and it’s not accessible with std bodywork. Sorry!

If there’s anyone out there with the front clam currently removed who could help?

I reckon option 1 could be made to look very neat, especially if you did the same on the other side. Plus it is by far the quickest and easiest of your options in my opinion.

yeah… it would be quick and it would be quite ‘race car repair’! Would be pretty quick to make something and ‘offer it up’… might just do that and see how it looks… And of course it’s invisible with the body on anyway!

It would be just as easy to fibre glass the corner sand to shape and drill it then bond/glue in a riv nut or helicoil type nut?

What Sean said …

yep - like that idea too - had not thought of the rivnut option! (dunno why, I have loads and the car is covered with them!)

[quote=AndyD]What Sean said …

[/quote]

Brilliant - there is nothing new is there!

Rivnuts in fibreglass dont really work as they dont grip on with much, plus the surface they are gripping too needs to be relitivly thin and flat.

Yep, fair point… Was thinking that if the thickness is not too great then i could use one if the ‘splined’ countersunk versions and ‘bond’ it in too…

Got lots more options and ideas now… Thanks all!