C3 convertible lock pillar repair, with pics

[Joseph H.]

The upper corners of both of my E69 lock pillars (under the lock pillar weatherstrip) are broken, presumably from slamming shut the convertible top cover over the years. Although the vehicle does not go out in the rain what is the best method to repair these? There seems to be enough glass material there, so can I use epoxy or a bonding agent and clamp them into position until dry?

I have searched through the archives without any luck............

Joe

[Rich P.]

Re: C3 convertible lock pillar repair, with pics

Joe,

this is very common both on C-2's as well as c-3's. The best way to fix it is to wedge a paint stick between the split areas and sand both sides, then make a paper funnel to apply the glue with and squeeze the glue into the crack, remove the paint stick and clamp them together. You can use any corvette glue or fiberglass 2 part epoxy.

Rich

[Joseph H.]

Re: C3 convertible lock pillar repair, with pics

Thanks for the info, I will give it a try over the fall/winter months. Just another item to add to the list.

Regards,
Joe

[Alan S.]

Re: C3 convertible lock pillar repair, with pics

Hi Joseph,
When I looked at your pictures I wondered "what's hitting it hard enough to do that"? Does something need a little adjustment or just a more gentle hand in closing? I wouldn't want you to do the repair and then have the problem start over.
Regards,
Alan

[Rich P.]

Re: C3 convertible lock pillar repair, with pics

Joe,

Here's a picture of a paper funnel in action. I made this to glue on a pair of parking lamp panels for a 66 I'm restoring for a customer. The one you need to make will be smaller as you won't need that much glue for this repair.

Rich

[Wayne W.]

Re: C3 convertible lock pillar repair, with pics

Hi Joseph,
When I looked at your pictures I wondered "what's hitting it hard enough to do that"? Does something need a little adjustment or just a more gentle hand in closing? I wouldn't want you to do the repair and then have the problem start over.
Regards,
Alan

My guess is that the deck lid w/s is for the later model and has the end piece that is not required on the `69. Just a guess.

[Joseph H.]

Re: C3 convertible lock pillar repair, with pics

Thanks again for the info. From what I can tell the W/S on this car is correct, the early style and has never been replaced. The 2nd version has a second piece to it, where the 1st version is one piece.

The lid lines up fairly well when closed, so I think this problem is from 40 yrs. of someone slamming this lid closed, instead of gently closing it. I have only owned this vehicle for about 2yrs.

The person who restored this vehicle only did half the job and some of that was not done very well. I am in the process of identifying and attempting to correct many more items.

Joe

[John H.]

Re: C3 convertible lock pillar repair, with pics

Joe,

Here's a picture of a paper funnel in action. I made this to glue on a pair of parking lamp panels for a 66 I'm restoring for a customer. The one you need to make will be smaller as you won't need that much glue for this repair.

Rich

That's EXACTLY the way St. Louis applied ALL the bonding adhesive; air-powered stand-up bond mixer/dispensers, roll-it-yourself paper cones, and scissors to snip off the end.

[John H.]

Re: C3 convertible lock pillar repair, with pics

Joe, a warm day or a heated space will help with epoxy setting up as it should.