Broken bolt repair?

[wetminkey]

I'd like to keep my front and rear 'boat anchors',...in the hopes that they might avoid, in the future, what my Spider is going through right now,...
Any thoughts on how this might be repaired?



The sliding piece of metal that the bolts are attached to is inside of an inaccessible metal box.
My thoughts are to drill into the metal box, and work from there,...
Thank you for any input you might have. Todd.

[dinghyguy]

Hmmm, any reason why you would not grind off the welds holding the box together, remove the plate, fix the bolt and then reassemble? The amount of weld holding the box together looks relatively minor in the picture, but I can not see all the sides.

Failing that can you use the good bolt to bring the hidden plate up tight so it does not move. Then perhaps you could drill out the broken bolt and install a stud?

cheers
dinghyguy

[davidbruce]

If you have a torch or access to one you could blow an access hole, say around 2" in the plate on the other side of this box. It would be covered when the front rubbers are reinstalled. Then pierce the broken bolt to allow putting a new bolt through from the back and tacking it in place. You could also torch out the plate in the picture following the footprint of the mount. Replace the offending stud on the bench and then weld the plate back in. Obviously you need to protect the chrome. Those bumpers look better than lots i've seen. But I also like Dinghy guys idea of drilling it out, tapping and replacing with a stud. A little red Loctite on the threads and a lot less work than cutting and welding.

[wetminkey]

Thank you, both!
I was thinking of davidbruce's initial idea,...access hole. But I like the stud idea better, because it's worth a try, and further attempts to repair could still be made, even if I couldn't make the stud idea work.
That's why I asked on this forum! Answers.
Good to have strong, young brains working on these kind of things, to help those of us with old, weak, feeble brains!
Todd.

[davidbruce]

I don't know about you Dan but i'm 60. Todd, since I retired, working to get my '80 on the road has kept me active. But problem solving keeps the brain active, ergo young. And quite frankly. Forums like this make us all smarter!

[dinghyguy]

Jeez you are all youngsters......

[wetminkey]

Gad! After crawling around on the garage floor for better than eight hours yesterday, pounding and prying on the Spider, I don't FEEL very youthful,...
And today was landscaping day. Just finished planting the haul from the nursery.
At least, I heal (over time), the Spider does not. Glad to have it back in as good a shape as it is,...especially after what it has been through. It's pretty lucky that it's not in Tom's yard, at Aspen Import Autos. If the hit had been a little higher on the front of the passenger fender,...or both sides. Yipes!
Anyway, I'll see if I can't use the threaded bolt, with a washer and it's nut, to tighten the sliding mechanism solidly. Then I should be able to drill/tap/thread for a stud (with the red Locktite, of course). Thanks, guys!
Todd.