[TR] Bulkhead Sealer Plate Fasteners

[Doug Hamilton]

Rivet nuts, "riv-nut", "nut-serts", and "Threadserts" are all basically the same product.
I have used these a lot in a previous job, here are some tips on using them.
First off they come in steel and aluminum.

The steel ones usually have a lip on the insert that stops the insert from pushing through the hole it's installed in. These are the most reliable inserts but you end up with what looks like a washer on the surface of your mounting hole. These wouldn't work well for the bulkhead plates because you wouldn't get a flush fit to the fire wall.

The aluminum ones come with and with out the outer lip. You would want to use the ones without the lip for this application. The ones without the lip are the trickiest to install. The holes have to be exactly the right size, too small and the insert can't be pulled in tight enough and the center threaded part will eventually come loose from the outer collar, too large and the outer collar will spin in the hole just like a rusty old caged nut.

For long term reliability you should always put some red or green Loctite on the outside of insert before installing it the hole, this reduces the odds of them coming loose.

With the aluminum ones if they will be exposed to the weather it's important to use anti-seize on the bolts or the galvanic reaction between the dissimilar metals will seize the bolt in the insert.

And just like welding it's a good idea to practice first on a similar piece of scrap sheet metal to get your technique down before start on your car.

My $0.02

Doug Hamilton

1960 TR3A
1963 Fiat Cabriolet


> Date: Sat, 14 Mar 2009 22:01:56 +0000 (UTC)
> From: terryrs at comcast.net
> Subject: [TR] Bulkhead Sealer Plate Fasteners
> To: triumphs at autox.team.net
> Message-ID:
> 	<1811176811.8006481237068116609.JavaMail.root at sz0059a.westchester.pa.mail.comcast.net>
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> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> Went to install the bulkhead sealer plates behind the wheels of the TR3A.B 
> The body guy must have filledB in any holes, and any cage nuts also long
> gone.B 
>
>
>
> I thought I would drill holes through the plates and the lip on the bulkhead
> where appropriate, but I can't use a regular bolt and nut system because
> there's no room to get behind the plate to put the nut on.B  So I wondered
> which alternative type fastener to get.B  The butterfly (drywall) type would
> have to be small to fit throug the hole.B  A sheet metal hex bolt could work
> and is where I'm leaning.B  Also could get one of those plastic inserts for
> the hole and thread a screw into that to hold the two together.
>
>
>
> Any thoughts?
>
>
>
> Terry Smith, '59 TR3A
>
> New Hampshire