Found a nice GM roof rack for my custom 66 Malibu wagon. Looking for best recommendations for mounting hardware and methods for sealing mounting points to preventing any leaks.
I believe you use rubber well nuts for mounting to the car? I have a rack I'd like to put on my Vista but I don't have the knowledge to do it confidentially, so maybe we can both get some advice. Do you have the rubber gaskets for the mounts or feet of the rack? I have been looking for some since acquiring mine. I have access to a 3-D printer to make some but need a gasket to scan for the dimensions. Thank you in advance if anyone can give RMay or myself any advice.
I do have the rubber nuts, but I have seen some posts where they had problems with them spinning when removing a rack. I will probably never have to remove it in my lifetime but if there is a better mount, I would be interested in knowing. One site showed a metal rivet type insert installed with a tool to prevent spinning. I used gasket material and punched out my own mounting gaskets. Once it is mounted and before I install the headliner, I want to make sure all the areas are properly sealed to prevent the possibility of leaks. The project is still slowly moving along, or maybe my age is slowly moving me along. We have a friend who has been helping us a couple days a week around the shop and has assisted us with finish body work and paint on a couple of projects. He has sprayed to cut in areas on my project and will do the finish paint work on the car.
what you are looking for are called Nutserts. I have used them and they work well, and are also available in stainless for longevity. You will have to buy the tool for installing them. An external gasket will have to provide water tightness. nut inserts | McMaster-Carr
