Mounting emblems

[ddezso]

Hey guys - another question (or a bunch of em).

I am taking my Z in today for a some work. One thing I wanted help with was properly mounting all 9 emblems.

I was asking my Z guy to drill the holes (they were filled when it was painted last) and use the tabs to properly mount the emblems to the body. He suggested that he could certainly do that and it would take some costly time, or I can just cut off the emblem tabs and use double sided tape to adhere the emblems.

I have certainly heard of that method before but wanted to get your feedback.

Is the double sided tape method professional looking and worthy of a fine Z car? Do taped on emblems live through water and car washing? If the answer to these is yes - what kind of tape specifically do you use?

Finally - how do you know exactly where to place the emblems? I'm sure I can 'eyeball' it fairly close but I wonder if anyone has measurements out there? For example, it's easy to measure centering the hood emblem but now far up from the tip of the hood front center is the center of the round emblem. Any thoughts?

Thanks as always.....

[Fun_in_my_z]

3m tape would probably work

[sblake01]

I think this is better than 'probably'. 3M makes a thin black tape especially for that type of use. It's available at NAPA though they may have to order it. It comes in a huge roll, much larger than you really need. I bought some in 1993 and still have at least 25 ft. left. It has a red backing. It has lived through washings, weather, etc. 8 years on the Z and 2.5 years on the 810. It won't come off unless you want it to. However, don't use the regular 3M office supply type stuff.

[Victor Laury]

The black 3M tape WILL take the paint off instead of letting the emblem loose! Yes it works, just about for-ev-ver.

Now the argument against - For - Ev - Ver - meaning you will not be able to remove the emblems without, most likely, damaging the paint. Why take them off?

To detail the car. If ya don't take them off first the buffer will - in peices.

To detail the emblem. Before a show, I take mine off, and while I sit in front of the TV or comp, I remove the built up wax, shine the chrome and re-blacken the black bits (with a sharpie brand marker)

To replace a damaged emblem.

[Arne]

Two thoughts. I also have a big roll of 3M tape, which I used to attach the trim to an old Chevy truck I refreshed years ago. This tape will definitely do the job, in fact it is what GM used on the truck when it was new - no holes were used at all. The tape I have has green backing, not red, and it appears to be removable. I have done so at various times, with no damage to aftermarket paint. So perhaps there are more than one grade of 3M trim tape.

But you may want to look the body over carefully, as the original holes may not have been welded, but simply filled with bondo. Look at the underside of the hood, for example, you might be able to see where the holes used to be. If so, re-drilling them out should be easy. The emblem holes in the replacement hatch I got recently were filled this way, and it is obvious where the holes should be, and easy to drill them back out.

[ddezso]

I have looked and the underhood holes on the hood. are not visible. I pulled the trip piece off the inside of the hatch and you can see the bondo there. Not so easy to get to on the pillars and the side emblems.

I think I'll just have my Z guy do it since he has my car for the next 3 days anyway.

[bpilati]

Why would anyone not want to put the emblems on their car the way the factory did it?

[Arne]

Why would anyone not want to put the emblems on their car the way the factory did it?

Hard to say, I want them all on my car. But shaving the emblems is one of the most common appearance modifications I've seen for an early Z, so there must be a lot of people who prefer it this way.

[bpilati]

Well I don't know how popular it is, but what's wrong with putting them on like the factory did it?

[ddezso]

If you dont want to do it yourself and drill holes in your car (if they have been filled and painted over) it's potentially easier, less expensive, and looks the same to use the tape.

I am a wee bit scared to take the drill to my car body and risk screwing it up having never done it. At least with tape it's less risky.......

In a perfect world they are done like the factory. Does that answer your questions?

[EScanlon]

Why would anyone not want to put the emblems on their car the way the factory did it?

Sometimes because of the condition of the metal below. If the original metal had to be cut off and new metal welded on, it might be difficult or impossible to find the original location of the pin holes.

Sometimes it's far easier and less hazzle to use the double stick tape than it is to try to get your fingers in between pieces of sheet metal so you can put a blind sheet metal nut (That's why Datsun used the bullet clip so extensively).

Unfortunately, the bullet clips require a specific size hole. If it's not to the exact size required, you simply will NOT get it in there. Either it won't insert or it will fall through. In addition to the hole in the metal, you now need to coat it so that it won't corrode, nor provide an easy venue for water to seep in. A small dab of silicone on the pin as you insert the emblem will help that.

If you're planning on detailing your car OFTEN, then I would recommend you go with the original pin / barrel mount. You'll be able to remove your emblems and polish behind them. Be careful of too often or careless removal as the clips WILL cause some deep cuts and scratches on the pins that could eventually leave them too loose to hold.

If your car has emblems without pins, then you must use the double stick tape or some other form of adhesive. This unfortunately negates being able to remove them for polishing the car. To avoid gunking the emblem up, mask them off as if you were going to paint the car. Stand the masking tape on edge on the sheet metal and wrap the whole perimeter of the emblem this way. Then finish taping the face, if necessary. Polish and wax and then remove the masking tape. You should then be able to use a soft toothbrush to brush away whatever wax/polish dust got on them, without having to worry about the white haze wax makes on flat black surfaces.

One fellow I know, uses the hole and pin without the barrel clip simply to ensure that the emblem is located in the right spot, then he uses the Automotive Emblem double stick tape to hold the emblem. This way he can use a straight edge razor blade to cut the tape and remove the emblem, polish the vehicle without having to worry about the emblems being gunked up with wax or breaking and he can still replace the emblems where they go.

If you use the tape remember that although it's so sticky it will stick to your waxed surface, it won't stick for long. Use some Wax and Grease remover exactly where you plan on using it so that it WILL stick properly. When you need to remove the emblem, use a safety razor and slide it between the emblem and the paint and cut the foam in between the adhesive.

E¢

[ddezso]

I just decided to pay the money and have the holes drilled like factory original. I get to see it at 4:00 today with all the new work done and looking beautiful.....I'll share pix.