Wildfire

Thanks for the pics. They help a bunch. Good luck with the bolsters.

Question: Was your windshield that height to begin with or did you cut it down to that height?

I think that 100 makes a Senior Member.

Vinny P

B.R.S.

Through bolted is ofcourse the preferred method, but maybe another suggestion would be to move the bolster forward or backward 1/2" or 1" then screw it down again.. Being that you already have #12 screws in there, you can't go much bigger in those holes, , the holes are already too big. By re-positioning the brackets and bolster, you will be able to fasten it to fresh material. The brackets on the bottom of the bolsters should cover the old holes.

B.R.S.

The problem with that is if I move the bolster I would have to rework the upolstered sidepanels because the bolsters fit tight into them. I also thought maybe a flat piece of stainless with studs welded to it to hold the bolster and a dosen or so smaller screws to hold it to the floor?

MACDAD260

How much clearance is there between the underside of the floor and the gas tank? If you have an inch or more you should have enough room to get washers and nuts in there for thru bolts. A 5 inch deck plate centered under each bolster would allow you to have access for the nuts and washers. Patience and a set of long needle nose pliers should do the trick to get the nuts started. Then use a long, flat wrench to hold them while you tighten them from above. The carpet won't be a problem if you can thru bolt it. I think the deck plates in the floor would look a lot better than a bunch of screws, too. Good luck!

HiPerf2000

iTrader: (2)

You could get a stainless 3/8 - 1/2 thick plate that is as wide as the leg of the Bolster, drill Countersunk holes and screw that to the floor with twice as many number 12's, positioning them so that you have room in between a few of them to bolt down the bolster. Then you would have to drill and tap the stainless plate so you can fasten the bolster down with lets sat 7/16 machine bolts. And you can Powdercoat the stainless to match the interior so it doesn't look rigged. I have a machine shop -- so let me know if you need help machining or material.

Or....if you have enough room under the the floor to slide in a 1/4 - 3/8 stainless plate, you can have a plate drilled and tapped to the hole pattern of both bolster legs. This way you would just need to drill clearance holes through the floor, and thread the bolts into the bottom plate. If there is no room to slide such a wide plate under the floor, you can make two separate plates for each leg.

Waterfoul

Dude!!! Looks like a Baja. I had the exact same problem with mine!! I put a 5" or 6" access cover directly between the bolsters (just like the one over the gas tank access). If this is a 240 or 250 Sport, you have about 3" of clearance between the bottom of the floor and the top of the tank. I got bolts, washers, and nuts on mine (had to stretch my arm a bit under the floor, but I got them on). Have not had an issue since (probably been 5 years or more). At the same time I replaced those bent aluminum stanchions with some stainless ones I had a buddy make for me at his shop. Added a lot of stability to the bolsters too. If you have a son with smaller arms, a wife, girlfriend, buddy, etc...to hold the nuts and washers while you wrench the bolts, it makes it a lot easier. I had to remove mine soon after installing to fix the fuel tank. With some help, it was real easy to re-install the bolts and nuts.

By the way, if anyone needs one of those alum. stanchions, I have one. One broke, but I still have the other one.

Cord

iTrader: (2)

1-1/2" From the top of the bracket. Lets see here...1/4" for the bracket = 1-1/4", 3/4" for the flooring = 1/2" below the floor. That's about what I was anticipating. A T nut is what the factory should have installed, but there is no way for you to install it with that little clearance. I attached a image of a T-nut for your reference.

Cord

iTrader: (2)

I wonder if one of the surface mounted T-nuts would work. I got this from Rockler.

http://www.rockler.com/ecom7/showdet...ID=72&CATID=22

The advantage is that if you used 5 of these on each bracket, you'd have 30 screws per seat. They take #6 screws, but still the numbers would be in your favor. I'd then use a stainless polished button head bolt. The one thing that I don't like is that they are a zink casting with a zink chromate wash.

Both the 5/16 and the 3/8" sizes are using the same casting which takes a 15/32" pilot hole.

blown formula

It looks like hiperf2000 idea of the bolster sized anodized or powder coated aluminum plate is the easiest & best solution. No large access holes needed. The plate could also be bonded to the floor with epoxy & holes threaded into it for the bolsters....
The real question should be, why do manufacturers put owners in this fix? In assembly, they for $10.00 less profit, could prevent this problem with backing plates like Formula uses on their bolsters. Go figure! Maximize profit, let the other guy worry about it! So what if a bolster rips loose while hitting a wave at 65-70 mph I just doesn't make sense!

B.R.S.

Cord those screw in T nuts look like the cat's ass. I think thet might just be the ticket but at almost $7 apiece they are alittle pricey. I am a Builder so I get a discount at the lumber yard hopefully I can get a better price. I am going to give them a whirl and I'll let you know how they pan out. I probably will epoxy the screws in the floor under the carpet. I agree that 5 screws is a pretty chincy way to attach the bolster to the floor but I really can't complain. The old Fountian is 14 years old has 900 hrs on the hull and is still solid as a rock so a loose bolster isn't that much to ***** about.