Last July, my hood ornament wore out - the loop on the bottom for the retaining wire broke through, fortunately overnight in my garage and not on the road. The car didn't have an ornament when I bought it and I have to wonder if the previous one broke in the same manner. These seem harder to find on eBay than others, so maybe it's a common problem.
Regardless, I decided I'd try to fix this one before shelling out the money for a replacement.
I drilled a hole in the bottom of the ornament and tapped it for a 4-40 screw. I had to run it just ahead of the remnants of the loop; any further forward and wouldn't fit in the receiver.
I wrapped a length of 18 gauge wire once around the screw and threaded it in snugly but no tighter - I doubt the potmetal would handle firm tightening. I wanted to have a washer on the screw, but I couldn't get the wires to quite fit in the receiver properly that way.
Once I got the wire to sit where I wanted it, it was a simple matter of running into the receiver, slipping the spring over and compressing it, and bending up the wire ends.
It does lean slightly forward and the range of motion is reduced, but it's better than not having one on there. I could probably try applying some epoxy to shim it up at the front.
I have no idea if this will hold up for any length of time, but it was worth a try.
Regardless, I decided I'd try to fix this one before shelling out the money for a replacement.
I drilled a hole in the bottom of the ornament and tapped it for a 4-40 screw. I had to run it just ahead of the remnants of the loop; any further forward and wouldn't fit in the receiver.
I wrapped a length of 18 gauge wire once around the screw and threaded it in snugly but no tighter - I doubt the potmetal would handle firm tightening. I wanted to have a washer on the screw, but I couldn't get the wires to quite fit in the receiver properly that way.
Once I got the wire to sit where I wanted it, it was a simple matter of running into the receiver, slipping the spring over and compressing it, and bending up the wire ends.
It does lean slightly forward and the range of motion is reduced, but it's better than not having one on there. I could probably try applying some epoxy to shim it up at the front.
I have no idea if this will hold up for any length of time, but it was worth a try.
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