zogster

One little job I'd like to get done in my current round of tinkering is fixing the batwing up... two of the three plastic tabs at the back are missing, and I'm not sure how to fix them in a way that has any chance of lasting.

Any ideas? I guess making new ones out of steel, aluminium or fibreglass would be easy enough, but I'm not sure how I'd fix them properly to the existing plastic.

zogster

Pic attached...I'm sure this is a familiar sight!

V2Rocket

blind (pop) rivets would make easy work of attaching your new tabs.

zogster

Thanks - never used them before, but just been Google/Youtubing and can see that might be the way to go!

V2Rocket

super easy to do - be advised, youll start looking around for more stuff to rivet together..

F18Rep

Good topic as this has been on my todo list forever. But your pic surprised me a little- it looks like the plastic tab was originally formed with the batwing. I haven't noticed this before.

Here's a pic of a batwing (that I have in the corner of the garage) with the kind of tab I see often. Its just a strip of galvanized steel that is formed and pop-revited on. I'm pretty sure this is the factory set-up for 87/88 951. And, it looks like it would be easy to duplicate.

This pic might help with the vision of a fix....Bruce

zogster

Ah that's interesting.:: yes, the remaining tab and its long-lost buddies are/were moulded as part of the whole thing. But also that tab looks shorter, and has its bolt hole at a different angle - looks like a second 90-degree bracket would be needed to reach the undertray.

I have that metal strip, at least for part of that edge.

Mine's a uk, rhd 1987 951. No idea if the batwing's original

ps. Yup, I can see a lot of riveting in my near future

951Tom

I went with rivets too Made some metal brackets with oval holes, then bent into position. It's lasted for years. Don't forget the rubber gasket strip on the mounting tabs.

zogster

Gasket strip on mounting tabs? You've lost me. Do you mean put rubber in between the new metal tab and the surface of the batwing to which it's riveted?

V2Rocket

if you need any of the hardware (fasteners) for the batwing, F18Rep up above offers an excellent kit at an unbeatable price...

951Tom

A rubber gasket strip (similair to the hood firewall seal) mounts on those vertical tabs and seals it to the bottom of the radiator mount. It looks like a couple of your tabs have broken off.

zogster

So I picked up a 2x20mm strip of aluminium, made up two tabs and pop riveted them to the batwing - pretty happy with the result!

On reflection, I wonder whether thinner metal would be a good idea... I'd rather break a shoddily-fabricated metal tab than chew up my batwing any more, and life's clearly tough down there.

So Bruce is Arnnworx? Bruce, love your work... several times it turned out that you made or stocked *just* the thing I was looking for.

F18Rep

No. YOU da man... but can you make those Wellington Boots work in a 951?...B

zogster

Ha! You're bringing to mind a passage in a Hunter S Thompson book… something about worrying that his driver's boots were unsuitable for heel-and-toe work. Wellies would definitely fall into that category.