105 mirror mounts

["Watry, Andrew (LNG-MBC)" <Andrew.Watry@domain.elided>]

I've seen Berlinas both with and without the three-hole threaded nut plate
that goes under the door skin to thread the mirror screws into.
Anecdotally, it has looked like early cars have tended not to have them, and
later cars have had them.  Cars without them have had sheetmetal screws into
the door skin instead of machine screws, but those could have been
post-factory mods.  Those plates can be the dickens to get into place. On a
Berlina, I've had to remove the whole vent window assembly to get access, so
I'm not suprised body shops, etc., leave them off.  Access is not as bad on
GTVs, but I can't say on Spiders

As to the rivet-nuts (also known as rivnuts), the ones used in light
aircraft construction have a cutout in the hole and a matching tang to keep
the rivnut from spinning, though that doesn't work 100 percent of the time.
The installation tool for these is not exactly a pop-rivet gun, but kind of
a cross between a rivet gun and a hand-squeeze rivet forming tool for
aluminum rivets, that pull the interior threaded part of the nut up against
the under side of the sheet metal, locking it into place.  Probably the
parts and tool sellers in Trade-a-Plane have them for sale.

Andrew Watry
Berlina Register (new Monthly Tips at www.berlinaregister.com)

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