Detroit Metro Soap Box Derby

DMSBD Tech Tips
Repairing Stripped Body Mount Holes in Floorboards - by Ian Carsten

After you’ve been racing a while you may find that one or more body mount screw holes have been stripped and will no longer hold a screw tightly. It’s surprising the number of times the shell may have to be removed and replaced for mechanical adjustments during the course of a racing season. Each time the body is removed and replaced, the screw holes may get enlarged. Eventually, some may no longer hold a screw. Fortunately, fixing a stripped screw hole in the floorboard is quite easy.

One way to fix a stripped hole is to apply strong glue to round toothpicks, push them as far into the hole as they will go and keep adding them until it can hold no more. The next day after the glue has fully hardened, cut off the ends of the toothpicks along the edge of the board and sandpaper them flush to the edge. Now you can remount the body and make a new hole. A variation of this idea is to drill out the hole with a 1/4-inch drill about the same depth as the length of the body mount screw, and glue in a wood dowel. The dowel should be longer than needed and tapped all the way in with a hammer. When the glue has hardened, use a hacksaw to cut the dowel close to the board and then sandpaper it flush to the edge of the board. If the dowel is made of hard wood, the new screw hole may need to be predrilled with a small drill to prevent the wood from splitting. If needed, the pilot hole should be 1/8-inch diameter or less. A good choice for the glue is a clear 30-minute epoxy such as Devcon or Locktite. We found ours in the automotive section of our local K-Mart. These adhesives also work well in bonding the steel bushings into the floorboard.

Back to Tech Tips
______________________________________