Correct…The snap nut should not wiggle in the slot. The snap nut should be able to slide back and forth in the slot so that the bolt may be aligned with the nut. It needs to be fairly tight so that the shoulder will not pull through the slot when torque is applied.
Brian
So in this picture: https://www.mcmaster.com/#clip-on-nuts/=1bjflt2
The nut part goes against the blade and the arms would rest on the rim of the top hat bracket.
G
The orientation of the snap nut is as follows. The shoulder of the snap nut should be wider than the opening of the slot. This will prohibit the nut from pulling through the opening. Does this clarify it for you?
The shoulder arms were wider than the top hot on my example, but as you can see they were somewhat loose. I had the arms over the shortest axis of the top hat bracket.
I was thinking you meant my nut was not thick enough which is not the case as per your diagram.
Perhaps if I do a dry run and torque the bits together I will see if the shoulders that I have, collapse.
Not sure how you are able to make these interesting diagrams. It looks like the top hat should be on the inside of the bumper arm(blade) or is that the arm from the frame?
Sorry to drive y’all nuts!
Gerard
I simply copied and pasted the snap nut diagram from McMaster-Carr’s web site and sketched a diagram using Microsoft Powerpoint. Here’s a more comprehensive cross section diagram that depicts things better.
Great!
I do have the shoulders on the top and bottom of the top hat bracket ( as per your diagram) and you did see the movement left and right. I don’t know if a larger shoulder snap arms would be feasible as these were somewhat challenging to get into the proper place. I had to clip one side first and use a screenwriter to pry the other slip onto the bracket. Once it is in place I have too much slack. I installed my snap nut from the REAR one side at a time as the nut was indeed too wide to press through the bracket which might be ideal?
I do understand that the nut has to be a tiny bit wider that the bracket so it does not pull through. as shown in your diagram.
Gerard
Dayum…Dalton Trumbo, perhaps?
Damn predictive text on my computer. A screwdriver to pry the other side of the snap nut shouldered lip into the top hat bracket.
G
This is exactly the method that I used to re-install the original clips. I came in from behind the top hat, placed one tab over the edge of the slot and then snapped the other tab over the slotted opening by prying down on the free tab with the blade of a screwdriver whilst (it is a British car) pulling it through the slot. There was sufficient tension between the original tabs and the slotted opening to to prohibit the amount of movement that you are witnessing.
It might be worth mounting a bumper arm to the bumper blade while on the bench and see if the snap nut holds (or not) once it’s tightened.
I thought at first of prying the tabs apart a bit to make the fit tighter. but that did not seem right. I will try the idea of attaching an arm and cranking down on that puppy to see if it holds. Might destroy the nut but money and time well spent .
I am also going to change the rubbers on the over riders while everything is apart. Those nuts are near impossible to get to while the bumper is in situ.
Nothing happened in the garage tonight as I ran out of propane on the heater. I dare not say,“what next”!
Gerard
After much discussion and an enormous amount of assistance from other members, I came to the conclusion that my top hat brackets were unusable in their factory designed state. I had Stan the GTO man MIG weld a “shouldered” nut into the back of the bracket to form a solid captive nut design.
I purchased grade 8 hardware and with assistance from Stan and the beautiful Angela with the Jaguar on a full size lift we were able to re-attach the front bumper.
I also spent significant time power wire wheel cleaning the back side of the bumper blade to remove a lot of surface rust. I do NOT have the correct front license plate bracket, hence those odd bolts holding a makeshift metal bracket to the front of the bumper.
We did have to remove one of the side brackets and apply the “heat wrench” with the bracket in a vice and bend it back to factory specifications as it was about an inch out of alignment after the small accident in the 1970’s.
To add a note of caution to applying tape to the painted surfaces, I would also advise protecting the chrome of the grill, as I can see some minor scratches from someone not being 100% careful when working the bumper on and off.
As a happy side note, the majority of the clunking I had been hearing was resolved by repairing the front bumper attachment broken snap nut connecting points.
Gerard
