Re: [DML] Bolts instead of plastic plugs

["Donald Ekhoff" <ekhoff@xxxx>]

Michiel,

Using bolts to fill the holes would result in bolts that are fused into the
holes. They could not be removed. It is possible to fill the holes with
hard carbon bolts that will take the heat and shed the molten Zinc but they
are expensive and have limited number of cycles before needing to be
replaced. Part of the issue with taping out the zinc is that it is so
strong in its own right that the tap may take out some or most of the steel
threads by mistake leaving a compromised thread that could fail later (not a
good thing to design into a process). The other thing to do is to have all
thru holes that require separate nuts but we all know how nice it is to not
have to get a wrench on the back side of some of those frame related
fasteners.

It's fun to see participation in the design process of a complex product
like the DeLorean, even if it is over twenty years too late. Where was
Powder Coat, Low Temperature Stainless, or Core-10 when we needed it? Last
week three young men just arriving from Detroit approached me regarding the
exact age of my six year old American car. They were amazed that it was not
showing advanced signs of rusting out! No one from Detroit or England
expects a car to be rust free after this much time. I have been involved in
re-importing Bug Eye (Frog Eye?) Sprites back to England because all of
theirs are rusted out.

Donald L. Ekhoff
Morgan Hill, Calif


----- Original Message -----
From: <michiel.bohmer@xxxx>
To: <dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, June 07, 2001 6:41 AM
Subject: [DML] Bolts instead of plastic plugs


> Hi List,
>
> Maybe I'm missing a oint here. As I follow the discussion about galvanised
frames, I wondered. The specific reason to abandon the galvanised option was
"re-tapping" the holes, wich was to much work.
>
> First of all, how much work would it be? In percentage of the total time
it would take to make a frame I figure it's really small. We could ask that
Pierce-guy, but I honestly think that retapping the holes is nothing
compared to the rest of the work.