FRONT FENDER COWL CAGE NUT Gone

Front fender cowl cage nut missing. I'm finally ready to put my new fenders on my 85 chevy c10 and noticed the cage nut on the inside of the cowl that is used to bolt the top of the fender to the cowl is gone. Pulled the dash apart along with the ac duct and there is no way to get to that area from the inside of the cab. Only thing I can think of is using a hole saw and cut a new hole on the inside of the cab under the dash even with where the hole is on the outside of the cowl. Without that bolt there the fender wont line up with the door. Anyone else ran into this?

I just broke mine off about a month ago putting my fenders back on after doing door hinges My fender still lined up pretty decent using the top bolt that goes down into the cowl, under the hood.

What is missing? On the a pillar by the door jamb, or the bolt on the cowl that is under the hood?

Missing like missing, missing? Or stripped or? We need pics.

There are potential solutions to either, but different solutions.

TotalyHucked said:

I just broke mine off about a month ago putting my fenders back on after doing door hinges My fender still lined up pretty decent using the top bolt that goes down into the cowl, under the hood.

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In the a pillar? Have you tried to drill it with a right hand drill bit?

The idea is if it grabs, it will thread itself in and just fall into the cavity, then chase the threads and install new bolt.

Use a drill appropriate diameter for a tap drill, either 1/4-28 or 5/16 (coarse or fine is fine). If the drill doesn’t get it moving, tap it, tap might get it moving, if not, use a bolt and jam it in to attempt to thread it in.

legopnuematic said:

In the a pillar? Have you tried to drill it with a right hand drill bit?

The idea is if it grabs, it will thread itself in and just fall into the cavity, then chase the threads and install new bolt.

Use a drill appropriate diameter for a tap drill, either 1/4-28 or 5/16 (coarse or fine is fine). If the drill doesn’t get it moving, tap it, tap might get it moving, if not, use a bolt and jam it in to attempt to thread it in.

Click to expand...

Yeah, the one in the A-pillar. I think mine stripped but is still there. I need to go look at our A-pillar assembly on the shelf and see how it's attached. Not sure if it's a cage nut or what but the bolt would still spin, just not tighten up. I was able to get it out by prying underneath it

I welded the cage nut to a washer. I then drilled four new holes around the sheet metal where the cage nut belongs. I then put the washered cage nut where it belongs and held it tight with a bolt threaded into the nut. I then welded the four drilled holes since the washer lined up with them. I will chase the treads with a tap and lubricate before I use it to attach the fender.

TotalyHucked said:

Yeah, the one in the A-pillar. I think mine stripped but is still there. I need to go look at our A-pillar assembly on the shelf and see how it's attached. Not sure if it's a cage nut or what but the bolt would still spin, just not tighten up. I was able to get it out by prying underneath it

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This is how my 79 is/was, I recall the donor pieces from an 85 were the same construction.

Fuuuuu. I'm not cutting my truck open until it's ready for paint, so it'll just live like it is for a while lol