I realise I’ve taken up quite a bit of space in this corner of the forum over recent weeks, so you may be relieved to hear that this is the last of my daft projects, for now…
It is well documented that the side panels do an amazing job of keeping most of the cold and rain from entering the side of the cabin. If you are currently speccing a Nomad, make sure you tick this option! That said, on a hot day sitting on a plastic seat, the panels do an equally good job of making your pants sweaty.
I’ve had the side panels off a few times now. The first time putting the panels back on was a nightmare. I was dropping nuts and losing washers left, right and centre. With a bit of practice, I now have removal down to about 5 minutes per side with about 10 minutes per side to put them back on again.
So I got thinking… Is there a quicker way?
Like the bonnet and engine cover, I looked at Dzus clips (1/4 turn clips) as an option. I figured that 17mm was the bolt length for the 4 corners and 19mm for the 2 centre fixings (the centre fixings have 2 x rubber washers to help give the panel that convex shape. The 4 corners have 1 rubber washer each).
Cool, time to go shopping… But then I realised that there are D-Clips, Button, Posi and Slotted fastener options. Some in black, all in silver. I was pretty sure that I wouldn’t need to remove the panels in a layby on the A303 in some kind of ‘panel removal emergency’, so went for the Zinc Button (Allen key) option to be as in-keeping with factory design as possible.
So with 8 x 17mm and 4 x 19mm button fasteners (
http://www.speedyfasteners.com/Dzus_But ... /sf127.htm), the challenge was on.
Granted, the rivet-on receptacles (not rivetted-on) don’t look the best. If I get bored, I may try to cut off / file off the rivet lugs, but with 24 lugs needing cutting / filing, I doubt this will ever happen. A rattle can of ‘close enough’ coloured paint did a decent job of blending it in (original fastener on top, sprayed fastener below)
- Non rivetted rivet receptacles.jpg (125.73 KiB) Viewed 1391 times
And the result? Well, I can take the panels off / put them back on in about 1 minute per side without my nuts dropping, which means I can panel up or down just before heading out and avoid roasted / frozen gentleman parts.
I’m hoping that when the panels are on, most folks won’t spot the difference between the ‘quick release’ mod (from a distance) and how the car was delivered from the factory. When the panels are off, the non-rivetted rivet receptacles pop off easily too.
- Looks a bit shit up close.jpg (69.06 KiB) Viewed 1391 times
- Hopefully not too bad from a distance.jpg (146.97 KiB) Viewed 1391 times
Was it worth £30 and a can of spray paint? Well I haven't used all the paint, so every cloud...
Happy Nomading.
#everydaycar
I realise I’ve taken up quite a bit of space in this corner of the forum over recent weeks, so you may be relieved to hear that this is the last of my daft projects, for now…
It is well documented that the side panels do an amazing job of keeping most of the cold and rain from entering the side of the cabin. If you are currently speccing a Nomad, make sure you tick this option! That said, on a hot day sitting on a plastic seat, the panels do an equally good job of making your pants sweaty.
I’ve had the side panels off a few times now. The first time putting the panels back on was a nightmare. I was dropping nuts and losing washers left, right and centre. With a bit of practice, I now have removal down to about 5 minutes per side with about 10 minutes per side to put them back on again.
So I got thinking… Is there a quicker way?
Like the bonnet and engine cover, I looked at Dzus clips (1/4 turn clips) as an option. I figured that 17mm was the bolt length for the 4 corners and 19mm for the 2 centre fixings (the centre fixings have 2 x rubber washers to help give the panel that convex shape. The 4 corners have 1 rubber washer each).
Cool, time to go shopping… But then I realised that there are D-Clips, Button, Posi and Slotted fastener options. Some in black, all in silver. I was pretty sure that I wouldn’t need to remove the panels in a layby on the A303 in some kind of ‘panel removal emergency’, so went for the Zinc Button (Allen key) option to be as in-keeping with factory design as possible.
So with 8 x 17mm and 4 x 19mm button fasteners ([url]http://www.speedyfasteners.com/Dzus_Button_Hex_Allen_Key_Head_Fairing_Stud_Kit_p/sf127.htm[/url]), the challenge was on.
Granted, the rivet-on receptacles (not rivetted-on) don’t look the best. If I get bored, I may try to cut off / file off the rivet lugs, but with 24 lugs needing cutting / filing, I doubt this will ever happen. A rattle can of ‘close enough’ coloured paint did a decent job of blending it in (original fastener on top, sprayed fastener below)
[attachment=0]Non rivetted rivet receptacles.jpg[/attachment]
And the result? Well, I can take the panels off / put them back on in about 1 minute per side without my nuts dropping, which means I can panel up or down just before heading out and avoid roasted / frozen gentleman parts.
I’m hoping that when the panels are on, most folks won’t spot the difference between the ‘quick release’ mod (from a distance) and how the car was delivered from the factory. When the panels are off, the non-rivetted rivet receptacles pop off easily too.
[attachment=2]Looks a bit sh1t up close.jpg[/attachment]
[attachment=1]Hopefully not too bad from a distance.jpg[/attachment]
Was it worth £30 and a can of spray paint? Well I haven't used all the paint, so every cloud...
Happy Nomading.
#everydaycar