I spotted these today on The Parts Place website and wondered if anyone has used them recently? We used some of these from another source a couple years back and had trouble getting them to Snap into the Buick Core Support properly. I believe these are used by Pontiac also and probably the only reason they're being reproduced. I'd like to stock them but wondered if anyone has used a set RECENTLY and if so,......did they snap in properly ???? Item # GH9385Z Share your thoughts please . . . . .
Bought some from Cars Inc about 3 years ago. They snap into the core support fine, but are pretty loose.
I used those. They would not snap in securely until I spread the ears slightly ,put a small socket on the front and gave a little tap. Fit is tight and I have no further issues
X2 I also found if the first tap into place didn't work, I might as well start to work with a different one, as the spring steel "keeper" wasn't in the right spot on some of these and after that first tap and not going into place, the keeper spring force would start to relax. Troy
I believe that's what we discovered also. Kind of frustrating. I get a lot of calls for these but I don't like providing parts that are going to frustrate my customers so I don't know what to do. We're stuck with a lot of aftermarket parts that aren't up to par with the quality we're use to. Thanks for the comments guys..... .
It looks like Ecklers sells the below: https://www.ecklers.com/firebird-headlamp-adjusting-screw-nut-1969-1973-75-284981-1.html These appear (from the stock photo) to be close to the ones i have on my 1971 Skylark. I might order a set to see how they do. Manufacturer looks to be classic industries.
I'm not sure but these might all be coming from the same supplier, which may be AMK. They added these to there lineup in 2017 if I remember correctly. (Which is also the year we tried them and had troubles) I'm not sure that they'll work any better on Pontiacs !?!?!? The sheet metal they snap into would more than likely be the same thickness! . . . . Frustrating. . . .
True. I was just noticing while looking at the TPP product and the Classic Industries product it looks like the metal cage that surrounds the plastic "nut" is styled different. At least at the clip part, which is important. I only brought those up as the classic industries (or whoever is making them) as that metal cage looks identical to the OEM ones on my Buick. I will have to look at the packaging and see who the manufacturer is when they get here.
I was going to buy the ones from AMK but didn’t. Then I saw Ames Pontiac had a set but wasn’t sure if they would fit. Was planning on buying from Ames after the holidays and see how they fit.
Ordered these through classic industries. Manufacturer is OER. They are identical to the OEM ones that I have. Not sure if you can stock these Todd but they are quality.
Got the adjustment nut and bolt from Classic Industries installed today. Since they are new, the metal that secures the plastic is much firmer than the 47 year old ones, shocking I know. As such I took a 5/16ths deep socket and small extension and pressed them in. This way you don’t damage the plastic part and you get some leverage to get the clip into the core support. Once the tabs clicked in, it was very tight which is good. These clips aren’t cheap but quality part that matches the OEM stuff.
I just got these too from Classic Industies. Haven’t installed yet because I was waiting to get the pads. Question, I noticed these headlamp pads were being sold and noticed my old core support had them. So I bought them. However, I have a new AMD core support installed and noticed the little square holes for the headlamp pads are missing and it has raised metal bumps instead. Wondering what these pads were used for originally? Do I really need them? From your picture, you have the hole but no pad installed. Did you install them later? Not sure what to do. Was thinking of glueing or sticking them in to avoid metal on metal. Any ideas? Plus it looks like I’m out $30 I paid for the pads (20 parts & 10 shipping). Thanks Nick!
Hey Nick, Interesting on the difference in core supports. I totally forgot about those pads. I will have to pick some up. Unless you want to sell yours. I will give you the $30 you paid shipped. Likely the bumps act the same as the pads, its just going to be metal on metal. Maybe put a dab of grease on the bumps?
The core support with the raised bumps/pads is the 1970 style core support. The one with the holes/slots is the 1971-72 style. They use the plastic pieces instead of the steel pads. All the reproductions are the 1970 style. Duane
Did not know that. Just assumed I needed pads. My old core support had them which is dated 71. My front end is a montage of different year parts. Guess I don’t need the pads. Next thing to figure out is the headlight buckets. I have A B D and E. Guess the E has to go where the C bucket should go. Lol.
