Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing Corrosion Running Board Strips and Fixings

Have replaced my rusty fixings holding my running board treads.

On some cars you will notice bumps appearing under the rubber strips, unfortunately these were plated screws and water sits in the treads eventually causing these to rust and bubble up.

If you're not quick about changing these then the nut and bolts corrode together and it becomes a hacksaw / angle grinder job to cut them off and replace...

When inserting new use stainless....

DSC_0089 by Robert & Ali Davies, on Flickr

when my +8 was restored, the holes in the running boards were filled and double sided tape utilised to hold the treads in place, which seems to have worked out rather well.

I have a corrosion issue but it's not the bolts, it's the aluminium wing!! Corrosion is creeping out from under the strips. It's going to the paint shop in the spring where they'll repair and repaint then replace the ppf to reach the wing beeding. The rubbers will then be fitted back on top of the ppf using stainless steel nuts and bolts that I've already purchased.

Right you are. I did my car last winter - MUCH more rust than this. Some hints: spray the nuts underneath the running board with WD 40, let it soak overnight, if not the nuts can be very difficult to loosen. Undo the nut a little, push the bolt upwards so you get the head lifted off the alu strip. It is coach bolts with dome shaped heads, so you must grab them with a small plier or vice grip and hold them still while you take off the nut from underneath.
I did not manage to get new stainless coach bolts with sufficiently small dimension (imperial, of course...), so I used 3 mm SS countersunk screws/nuts, a little smaller. The heads of these screws were big enough not to go through the remaining square hole after the coach bolt in the alu, but so small that they ended up totally flush with the metal.When putting back the rubber strips start with the ends and work towards the middle, helped by the corner of a credit card. I had some thoughts about galavanic corrosion alu/steel, so I applied a dab of anti-corrosive fluid on each screw. I wll remove the rubbers this winter to check, though.
It was quite a job. Three threads on each side, nine screws each thread - 54 in total. Roadster with twin exhaust, the silencer being in the way under the running board on both sides. The most medial screws were a challenge, had to use a long, thin plier to hold the nut in the right place before ever so gently entering the screw from above, then tightening them.
Not difficult, but very fiddly. I had a good time. Lying on an insulating mat on the garage floor, Mozart on the radio, slowly progressing.....

Ah, forgot another hint: cover the paintwork with masking tape as best as you can. When you take out the bolts there will be rusty metal particles all over the place, which will easily scratch the paint. We do not want that on our gems, do we...

Another job for the list, mine are bubbling.

Gents just a reminder to be cautious using stainless fasteners on aluminum panels .

My old alloy Mog when restored circa 20 years ago was rebuilt using stainless screws nuts and bolts which have as yet not displayed any real issue in terms of corrosion. OK so I have not covered more than circa 28k miles in that time, however it has been exposed to wind rain and even snow on occasion. I suspect the reason for it`s present tidy condition is down to both the experience that Kevin, ( the restorer) has had over the years resolving Morgan corrosion issues on other folks Morgans, the benefit of which was utilised when he got round to rebuilding a +8 for himself, in that he well knew where to put in the extra effort to reduce the effects of corrosion..

Anyone who has ever painted a panel held on by screws knows well that the threads of the screw will dislodge some if not all of the paint from within the hole as the screw is pushed through it and that is where the corrosion can begin. Of course it is possible to utilise some assembly goo to offset this effect, but it seems in time corrosion is likely to begin therein..?

I posted a couple of close up pics in the galleries of fixings on my car which have eventually begun to shown marginal signs of corrosion, though the majority have not.

https://www.tm-img.com/image/xyNSa
https://www.tm-img.com/image/xy726

Elsewhere I have indeed seen stainless fixings utilised in aluminium, which totally seized up in time when exposed to the elements continuously..

Rog .... indeed that's good advice .... though the large areas of an aluminium panel with small stainless fastners should be less vulnerable ..... plenty of waxoil etc will help.

If you're fitting aliminium strips to aluminium panels then aluminium fastners are available from bolt factors or race part suppliers .... undoubtedly the best solution is to use the same metal throughout ...... and as they're not in a structural situation ali bolts will be fine.

K

I'm not too concerned about galvanic corrosion with stainless steel and aluminium, I might however put a couple of nylon washers and some sealer in to help matters. I think it's only an issue when the object is continuously in water? But I'm a joiner🤣