NAA Instrument Panel Removal

[OrtisEvans]

I am replacing the radiator on an NAA and want to prime and paint the inside of the sheet metal while I have it off. There is piece of sheet metal below the instrument panel that I want to remove. From the photo, you can see the rod poking out through the side. Both sides are the same. The sheet metal won't slide over it since the ends are flared.. On photos of Golden Jubilee models, I see bolts in that location, as I would expect. No, you can't get a wrench on them. It may be that they were pressed in after the sheet metal was in place, although I don't see why Ford would have done that.

Do I need to give up, or am I missing a trick?

Regards,

 

[ovrszd]

Don't give up. There has to be a way to get that off. Hopefully someone will chime in that owns one. There are several Ford tractor intellects on here. Stand by for more responses.

 

[OrtisEvans]

Don't give up. There has to be a way to get that off. Hopefully someone will chime in that owns one. There are several Ford tractor intellects on here. Stand by for more responses.

Thanks for the encouraging! words

 

[Dollar Bill]

Originally, that was a 7/16" X 1" bolt.

What is there must be threaded to hold the sheet metal in place - Could you weld a nut onto the exposed head and spin it out?

 

[ovrszd]

Originally, that was a 7/16" X 1" bolt.

What is there must be threaded to hold the sheet metal in place - Could you weld a nut onto the exposed head and spin it out?

Great idea!!!

 

[OrtisEvans]

Originally, that was a 7/16" X 1" bolt.

What is there must be threaded to hold the sheet metal in place - Could you weld a nut onto the exposed head and spin it out?

That's a sensible idea. However, I see 3 pitfalls:
1. The head, such as it is, looks original, so i don't think someone did something goofy to make it look like it does.
2. There is not much clearance between the head and the sheet metal, so I would think it would be hard to weld on a nut without melting the sheet metal.
3. I don't have the skill or the equipment to weld! (I know, not a good lack for someone who wants to do it himself)

I thought that maybe the hole in the sheet metal was oval, so that detaching it from the panel above would let me rotate it down to let it just slip off. No go.

I'm still looking for ideas

 

[Dollar Bill]

The heat from welding would be concentrated over the bolt - It may scorch the paint on your tin but that would be the extent of damage.

If welding isn't an option then use a 1/2" bit and drill only deep enough to separate the head from the shank of the bolt.

Hopefully the there will be enough of the stud protruding to spin it out with vice grips - Otherwise an EZ out should get it out.

 

[Ford850]

That's an odd looking arrangement. Is it the same on both sides? As Dollar Bill said, it originally had a 7/16"-14 x 1" bolt in there, with a washer and lock washer. Nothing fancy or unique. I don't understand how they tightened that flat headed 'bolt' that's in there now.

 

[OrtisEvans]

That's an odd looking arrangement. Is it the same on both sides? As Dollar Bill said, it originally had a 7/16"-14 x 1" bolt in there, with a washer and lock washer. Nothing fancy or unique. I don't understand how they tightened that flat headed 'bolt' that's in there now.

I agree: I don't know how or why they got that thing in there. Some previous owner did a lot of weird stuff. One of the water pump bolts was a square-head. They left out the spring clip that holds the distributor rotor. The list goes on. At least now I know that I am being haunted by a previous owner rather than by Ford, and I have some good ideas to try.

Thanks everyone

 

[Dollar Bill]

Any luck?