1977 Luggage Rack oddity - IS it?

[Oliver B.]

There has been a discussion about Luggage Racks recently. (Here: https://www.forums.ncrs.org/showthre...76654&uid=5931, especially see the pamphlet by Willcox attached there.)

Although confident that the Luggage Rack installed on my car is original (well, not installed at the factory - as can be seen from its lack on the Dealer Invoice - but a correct replacement part installed by the dealer later), I nevertheless wanted to check for the "weep holes" mentioned in the documentation by Willcox.

Now, what I found, certainly puzzled me:
- all the weep holes are there and facing to the rear of the car
- all a-okay for the three driver-side bars/struts/spokes
but
- on the passenger side the weep holes are not on the UNDERSIDE of the bars, but facing UPwards (not too workable for their use of letting moisture drain DOWN, is it?)

The bars seem to have been able to be put into the frame either side (weep hole facing sky- or earthwards). In the "upside down" position the pins showing the location of the brackets holding the T-Tops seem to look better fitting, too...

As the racks came completely assambled from Duer

[Alan S.]

Re: 1977 Luggage Rack oddity - IS it?

Hi Oliver,
I looked at the rack I bought in 1971. It doesn't have any 'drain' holes but the bars can be taken off and turned.
The mounts in your picture looks like the ones from my 71 rack. You can take the rack loose from the "pillars" without losing the nut embedded in rubber ( I don't know the proper name for that kind of fastener) in the rear deck. I used to take the rack off when I waxed my car because it was quicker than waxing around the "pillars" and then getting rid of the wax remains left on the plates that are under each "pillar'.
Good Luck!
Regards,
Alan

About 1985

[Harmon C.]

Re: 1977 Luggage Rack oddity - IS it?

The nuts are called well nuts and some may fall out if the rubber on the outsde is dried up.

[Oliver B.]

Re: 1977 Luggage Rack oddity - IS it?

Hum... This is what the screws and hardware look like on Willcox's homepage (see attached pic).

From that picture I assume that the screws go through the "pillars" and black rubber grommet (which goes on top of the rear deck) and secures against the well nut (below the deck), right?
So, unscrewing would (or at least could) drop the well nut... What should keep it on the backside of the deck? Grime of 30+ years? Or does the well nut "tighten" against the rubber already?

Well, if I just start unscrewing the two screws (it's only one bar in question that attaches the rack to the deck) I might see the screw lifting (a sign that the well nut keeps clinging to the deck) or if it does not, that motion broke the well nut loose..... Case 1: go ahead; case 2: stop immediately, fasten screw and forget about it.

Still: all that sounds like trying to turn the bars might be a risky business...

Does anybody have pictures of their 1977 carriers, that I can verify mine against? ...Before I start anything not worth it.....

[Oliver B.]

Re: 1977 Luggage Rack oddity - IS it?

One step further:
the attached picture shows the rack (8 holes chrome - replacement for 1977) as available from Willcox again.

If you compare it to my rack (pic in my first post), it is clearly visible that the little pins indicating the location for the brackets on the first bar right of the filler door ARE inverted!
So, Bubba indeed screwed.

Question remaining (aside from my above question about the risk of trying to correct that): am I the only one having that? Or is it a "common irregularity"?

Crazy: it's after 18 years of owning the car that I stumble over this now.......

[Paul D.]

Re: 1977 Luggage Rack oddity - IS it?

Oliver,
This link shows a good picture of a well nut. http://www.emhart.com/products/pop/wellnut.asp

They drop in from the top and the thin flange keeps them from falling through. When the screw is tightened, the nut swells on the back side of the glass to hold on. The nuts should not fall through. That said, what does happen sometimes is the nut can be siezed to the screw and turns with it. If that happens, you have to cut the screw and cut the flange off the nut and push it on through. It should fall to the ground ( after it bounces off the tank, frame and exhaust). I was surprised that the nuts were not included in the repair kit you pictured. I am sure they are available seperately or you can get them at most parts houses or maybe even a home center. They are sold by thread size and try to get the ones with brass threaded area as most are. Chip.

[Oliver B.]

Re: 1977 Luggage Rack oddity - IS it?

Oh, and I thought, the nuts were the combination of the black "grommet"-parts in the lower left on the picture and the eight silver ones directly over those....
So, one would need additional parts ("real" well nuts) to attach the rack to the deck?

Huh, if the screw turns the nut, should it not be possible to get a grip of the nut right over the deck while turning the screw? Or does one not see the nut itself but the black grommet instead?
Anyway, it might be a good try, now knowing that the worst thing to happen would be not being able to turn out the screw... (There's only the tight quarters to overcome when working a screwdriver between deck and underside of the rack...)
Sounds like an interesting weekend-project now.

How about some "authenticity/originality"-issue that some racks might have come like this from Duer/GM?

[Paul D.]

Re: 1977 Luggage Rack oddity - IS it?

Oliver, You will not be able to grip the nut from above the glass. All that will be visable is the thin flange. I guess you COULD grip it from below with some help and some long, limber arms, but I would not try.

As for "originality", so many things can happen during mass production, You would be hard pressed to explain it as a factory configuration. Why not just fix it and avoid the hassle. I am sure that if that tube fills with water and has no place for it to escape to, original configuration will soon take a back seat to the reality of a damaged rack requiring repair. Chip.

[Oliver B.]

Re: 1977 Luggage Rack oddity - IS it?

Thanks for all you input - VERY informative and supportive to address to this as soon as weather allows for some wrench turning again...

[Alan S.]

Re: 1977 Luggage Rack oddity - IS it?

Hi Oliver,
Just for clarification... the 'well-nuts' aren't shown in the picture from WILLCOX. If the well-nuts were installed normally, the entire rack can be taken off and the well-nuts will remain tight in the holes in the rear deck.
The plate with the diamond shape on it, and the large rubber washers, cover and surround the well-nuts on the surface of the deck when installed.
Regards,
Alan

[Oliver B.]

Re: 1977 Luggage Rack oddity - IS it?

Ah, okay - thanks. (Figured something like that already... But good to HEAR/READ that, too.)

What exactly do you mean by well nuts being installed "normally"?

I assume "the rack can be taken off" with the a.m. restrictions kept in mind. As are: dried, brittle well nuts disintegrating or the nut seized with the screw...

I will give it a try.......

[Philip C.]

Re: 1977 Luggage Rack oddity - IS it?

There has been a discussion about Luggage Racks recently. (Here: https://www.forums.ncrs.org/showthre...76654&uid=5931, especially see the pamphlet by Willcox attached there.)

Although confident that the Luggage Rack installed on my car is original (well, not installed at the factory - as can be seen from its lack on the Dealer Invoice - but a correct replacement part installed by the dealer later), I nevertheless wanted to check for the "weep holes" mentioned in the documentation by Willcox.

Now, what I found, certainly puzzled me:
- all the weep holes are there and facing to the rear of the car
- all a-okay for the three driver-side bars/struts/spokes
but
- on the passenger side the weep holes are not on the UNDERSIDE of the bars, but facing UPwards (not too workable for their use of letting moisture drain DOWN, is it?)

The bars seem to have been able to be put into the frame either side (weep hole facing sky- or earthwards). In the "upside down" position the pins showing the location of the brackets holding the T-Tops seem to look better fitting, too...

As the racks came completely assambled from Duer

Hi Oliver the rack that came from the factory on a 1977 looks nothing like the rack your talking about, it was made from black plastic and ugly. It was used to hold the T-tops, as I remember it had posts that mounted on the rear deck spaced apart that the T-tops corners fit into. Phil 8063

[Oliver B.]

Re: 1977 Luggage Rack oddity - IS it?

First:
Thanks everybody for your technical hints - AND (so) supporting the idea to tackle that "problem"... I did yesterday.

It was EASY! ...No trouble with the well nuts, no frozen screws - all went flawlessly! (45 mins of slow and careful working including photo-documentation)

Now all the weep holes are facing downward (as supposed) and the small pins support the carrier-bracket a lot better, too.


Then:
Philip, it is/was the rack I was talking about... These chrome-racks have been a dealer-option for 1968 to 1976 models, then as RPO V54 to be ordered with a 1977, differing in some detail from the dealer-option-racks.
The black plastic "racks" you mention have been an option for the later ("greenhouse" rear-window) sharks and attached directly into grommeted holes in the rear deck/fender area.
Mine is RPO V54...