Front Fascia Removal/Painting

[67#0083]

Hi Guys, I'm having my '68 taken back to Acapulco Blue. I'm not a painter but I'm going to disassemble the car and then put it back together.

I have the whole nose unbolted but there are three carriage bolts connecting the top and bottom halves to the car in the grill opening. They all just spin when you turn the nuts and, short of welding something to the top of them to hold them in place, I see no other way to get them off. Any better ideas? Also:

1. Are those three carriage bolts supposed to be body color?

2. If so, would it make more sense to just paint the front end with the nose on the car? I think I can get some spacers in between the headlight buckets and front fenders to create a gap for when it's sprayed.

3. Any other good advice specifically around painting a '68?

Thanks!
Ryan

[roddster]

  Can't remember where, but I had a similar issue with spinning carriage bolts.
    I used appropriately size wire cutters to pinch the size of the head and hold the head from spinning.
  Yeah, might leave a minor mark but it is at least not welding anything to the top.

[Corey Bowcutt]

Yes, they should be body color.

Corey

[KR500]

Yes, they should be body color.

Corey

No they were not painted at first.They were not in place when the panel got painted,therefore they could not have been spray painted.There may be some evidence that A.O.Smith or selling dealers may have brush painted them after assembly on SOME cars, possibly to cover up rusting bolt heads before they shipped/sold them.There are photos of these cars coming down A.O.Smith's line were you can see the shiny plated and unpainted bolt heads. The only way I will accept a painted bolt head in this area is if it is brush painted after assembly. 

[Road Reptile]

Hi,
Sometimes an easy way to remove these is use a cutoff wheel (Dremel will get in tight places) and grind a slot in the bolt head.
Use a screwdriver that fits tight in the slot and hold while you spin off the attaching nut.
This has been successful many times for me and will not risk more damage to paint or fiberglass.Another way is to try to spin the nut off with a high speed impact.This is best on clean
Threads and might work for you. Last method, last resort is tighten and break them-not my way of operating, yet works for some folks/some risk of damage and I would never do this with fiberglass parts involved-they can crack very easily, and then you have more to repair. Also soaking with a good penetrant and cleaning the threads can help. Be patient and best of luck!
R.R.

[67#0083]

Great advice all around- thanks, everyone!