Ok, so this could probably fit under the electronics forum too, but I'm not sure which forum to post it in, so I'm posting it here.

Basically, since my pop-up headlight module is kind of finicky in my firebird and doesn't always work, I occasionally have to pop the hood and twist the headlight motors up myself. Doing this recently one night, after I had parked and was twisting the motor back down, I was applying very gentle pressure to the headlamp, but somehow managed to snap part of the metal on the headlight assembly. You can see which part it is in the attached pic, circled in green..

I was thinking of trying a much cheaper solution (than buying another complete assembly) by removing the headlight assembly from the car, and using some kind of super strong adhesive of glue that's suitable for metal to fix it, than put it back in once the bond is secure. If this is doable, what kind of stuff should I use on it? and furthermore, I'm still new to the whole project car thing, and haven't removed the assembly myself yet. How do I do this? do I just need some socket wrenches, common sense, and patience? or some other tools? thanks!

 

they make a 2 part epoxy clay material thats really strong and would work as a "band-aid" for that problem. IIRC that part it cast/potmetal anyway, so welding would be difficult.

 

Body glue will also work wonders. This is the same stuff that even now is holding your car together after all these years.

I've tried. If you use two thin pieces of sheet metal and glue it together it should be strong enough to hold bracket until you buy another one. It'll probably be good for many years.

 

I may have a decent headlight bracket from a 91 in my garage. I'll have to take a look at it because the car was in a front end collision and I'm not 100% sure if it's any good or not.

Body glue doesn't hold our cars together, BTW... Thousands of spot welds do. Our cars are too old for that adhesive manufacturing process.

If and when you do fix this, I would go through both headlight buckets and clean/lube all pivot points and possibly clean the motors out as well if they will come apart. It's the resistance in the buckets that will keep the module from opening the headlights. Oh, and all you need is a 10mm socket, and a jack to get under the front of the car (2 bolts on the bottom lip holding each bucket in and the 2 on the top of the radiator support).

 

where are you located? i have 2 headlight assmeblies without motors taking up space, i would send you parts if you are interested, or even better close.

 

//<86TA>\\ - I'm located in western WA, in the Seattle-Tacoma area.

Maverick H1L - Cleaning out the buckets? One of my headlight motors is a recently installed re-manufactured unit. The other is an older one that still works, so I'm going to keep using it for now. I've also been told that a loose connection inside the module itself can cause the headlights to not pop up at times (and that re-soldering it can often fix the problem).

Should I go to an auto parts store or a hardware store to find the glue stuff I could use? I see complete assemblies (not sure if it includes the motor or not) going on Ebay for like $80, so I'd prefer to only spend a few if possible while getting more important stuff fixed on this beast (Shock and strut time this week, thank goodness! haha!)

 

Yes, clean all of the pivot points on the lifting arm and the hinge and then grease them either with chassis grease, anti-sieze, or white lithium grease. And make sure that the motors turn freely when removed.

The body adhesive is around $40 for way more than you need (I have a tube I'm going to use on my quarter panel in the other room). You may be able to get away with something like a 2-part JB Weld epoxy or something, found at the auto parts store.

 

Spot welds are there yes, but the Body glue GM used at the time still contributed a great deal to our cars assembly process.

And for the OP's purpose, body glue would certainly "fix" it until he could get a replacement bucket.

 

norton speed grip structural adhesive is the best thing you can use to bond two pieces together because is not an epoxy mixture, is urethane so its a lot stronger

 

And what body glue would this be? Seeing as how it wasn't invented yet... I think you're referring to the immense amounts of seam sealer used.

And the only way the glue would fix it would be if he could somehow squeeze the upper bar back together (strap clamp or something).

 

I'm in Puyallup. Don't be afraid to ask if you need help with something.

 

I have used Heavy duty Liquid nails adhesive for just about everything .Man that stuff is strong. The one I use is made for a caulking gun and "dose not" say that it will work on metal but It also dose not say you cant use it on metal. Just to be on the safe side I found you this. I believe anything made buy them would be worth trying .Here's the link = http://www.liquidnails.com/products/...p?productId=76
Should be able to find it at just about any hardware store.