Volks, I know that everyone is wondering how I solved my VW hood emblem problem. You may recall that the three pins on my VW emblem did not match up with the three holes in my 1970-something aftermarket (but Original VW Parts) hood with the flat emblem area. My former hood – a Brazilian aftermarket job – had three holes each containing a polyethylene tube grommet, allowing the pins of the emblem to push neatly down into them and stay put.
The PE tube grommets seem to be unobtainium. I like that attachment system since it allows removal of the emblem with no damage to the pins, something the usual push clips don't guarantee. SO I made a substitute. For you authenticity buffs, here's my solution. (Somebody else said, "Just glue it." Sorry, not my style.) Using the long 5/32" polyethylene tube from a used Windex bottle, I heated the end of it almost to melting, then pushed it firmly in turn onto each of the emblem's 3 pins. It slid on, then mushroomed out a bit at the leading tip as it "bottomed out." I cut off each piece kust short of the pin length. Into a scrap of inner-tube rubber, I punched three 5/32" holes, then cut out little pieces around the holes. These three slid neatly onto the Windex tubing covered pins. But I did have to drill. Using a Dremel tool, I gently expanded and spaced each of the three holes in the hood to about 5/32" Ø or a smidge larger, using my emblem and its new plastic-covered pins as a guide. Cleaned them, then covered all exposed metal with a touch-up paint brush (using close-matching Rust-Oleum) and let them dry for a half day or so. This afternoon I carefully set my emblem onto the holes, made sure it was well aligned, and pressed the emblem firmly down into the new holes. Ta-daa! It was a firm, but clean fit! The emblem is in the right place, sits down onto the hood (with a paper thickness between it and the paint, allowing drainage), and looks like a factory job. I'll seal the underside with some brush-daubed Rust-Oleum. I regret that I can't find a hood with the raised pedestal for the round VW emblem. The VW dealers only sold flat hoods as replacement parts, and my 1970 really, really should have had a raised one. The incorrectness aside, though, this DIY grommeting system appears to have worked well. I won't be getting rain water into my trunk, I shouldn't have any rust, and the emblem looks like factory-correct. Thanks to all you guys -- Yves and Lloyd in particular but also Mike and Erin (N.Q.) -- for tips and ideas. What a list! Bert Knupp in Music City -- Visit the VintagVW archives at http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VintagVW - Air Cooled Volkswagen Discussion List" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/vintagvw. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
