Hey guys! So I ordered a couple of nipple hubcaps with Empi emblems. The emblems came loose with these speed nuts, but they don’t fit very well. I’m concerned that I’m going to dent the hubcap trying to get the emblem attached.
Is there a trick to getting these things on?
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Bic pen. Or anything with a similar ID.
We use a little "glue" behind our emblems (we use methyl methacrylate) and then the fasteners. Tinnerman clips/speed nuts, like pictured, we put on with a hollow nut driver with an ID slightly larger than the emblem post OD. You can use a socket, or really anything hollow as David has indicated.
Carey's advice is always correct but I'd go one step further. Those "aviation" style speed nuts ( tinnerman ) nuts were meant to be used with " sheet metal screws" and naturally won't do the job right with the screws on the emblem supplied. Need to sleep well at night ? ....push on those spring tinnerman nuts to your hearts content and follow up with a nylock nut. Check your tire pressure often and beware of potential cracks in your windshield......Thanks, Carey....:-)
Or a good dab of clear silicon
I found that the fiberglass is often too thick for the tinnerman nuts to to be installed.
It seems many badges and emblems have "posts" that are only long enough for the them to be installed in sheet metal.
I modified a cheap flat blade wood drill to cut a counterbore into the fiberglass on the inside. The counterbore has to be big enough to allow the full length of the tinnerman nut to be flat against the bottom of the counterbore.
This worked really nice but don't over do to !! Otherwise you could have a huge hole to fill ! See drawing below...........Bruce
@David Stroud IM Roadster D posted:Carey's advice is always correct but I'd go one step further. Those "aviation" style speed nuts ( tinnerman ) nuts were meant to be used with " sheet metal screws" and naturally won't do the job right with the screws on the emblem supplied. Need to sleep well at night ? ....push on those spring tinnerman nuts to your hearts content and follow up with a nylock nut. Check your tire pressure often and beware of potential cracks in your windshield......Thanks, Carey....:-)
TBH, those aren’t the right clips for emblem posts (although they’ll work) Like you say, tinnerman or “speed nuts” are made to use with coarse thread screws. The actual hardware for emblem posts is just two barbed edges on piece of spring steel.
Emblem posts made to attach this way aren’t threaded, like the ones that are meant to attach with a nut and washer. They’re just posts.
Another tool that installs (and removes) them pretty well is a pair of flat-nosed pliers. Use the flat nose to push on the sides that are upper left/lower right in the above pic which lets the barbs flex.
I'm with Wolfgang on this. Keep it simple... A little dab of silicone between the badge and the hubcap and then a small dab on all three studs and those emblems aren't going anywhere.
Thanks guys! I’ll try the silicone and see how it works, this would help to keep the from rattling too.
