Dzus Installation

8/13/2019 Dzus Installation

1/15

Dzus installation

[Note: We've learned things since the first round of these instructions. Please read to the end. We've stopped using

the plastic washer as a spacer, but even though it's no longer my favorite way to use dzuses, it's still a way, and it'snice to have alternatives...so we're leaving it in. For now.]

Some body parts need to be conveniently removable. In some installations, the nose must be removed to service theradiator, and in nearly all installations, the scuttle must be removed for electrical and instrument service. Dzusquarter-turn fasteners are a strong and secure way to mount body parts, and have a long history in aviation and autoracing. And so we offer a "Dzus kit" suitable for mounting one nose or scuttle per kit. Here's a quick primer on howto use them, using a scuttle as our model.

Kinetic Vehicles http://www.kineticvehicles.com/dzus.html

1 von 15 27.10.2013 23:15


2/15

The Dzus system has two main components; a spiral-cam stud (often called a "button") and a receptacle containinga wire form spring. The receptacle is mounted on the base structure and the stud goes through a hole in the bodypanel, with its head on the outside of the panel and its spiral locked into the spring.

Dzus fasteners come in a variety of sizes, but the size best suted to our application is the 6.5, which has a 13/64"diameter stud, and that's size we stock. Our Dzus kit includes four receptacles ("plates"), four springs, and fourstuds ("buttons").


2 von 15 27.10.2013 23:15


3/15

Ki ti V hi l htt // ki ti hi l /d ht l


4/15

Here a stud (with a 3/8" plastic washer as a retainer) has been inserted into a receptacle and turned 1/4 turnclockwise to secure it in place.

This next step is completely optional, but it drives me crazy when Dzus fasteners are installed crooked. I want allmine with the slot horizontal when they're locked in place, so I can tell at a glance if I've left one unsecured or failedto give it the full quarter turn. Apparently it doesn't bother the manufacturer, because to get the slot to sit horizontal,the spring has to be cocked a bit in the receptacle, and the receptacles are made with the spring mounting holeslevel, not the stud. So I trim the bottom of the receptacles to compensate; I eyeball the first one, cut or grind to theline, and mark the other ones to match the first one.


4 von 15 27.10.2013 23:15

Kinetic Vehicles http://www kineticvehicles com/dzus html


5/15

Using the unsprung receptacle as a guide, place it in position on the inside of the body part (the scuttle in this demo)and trace the center hole onto the part with a felt pen. If you use a dark felt pen (black, for example) and have alight colored fiberglass part (white, for example) and a strong source of illumination (the sun, for example) you cansee the traced ring through the part and mark the center of it on the outside of the part. Doing so may make drilling

easier. Trace the center holes of four receptacles, widely spaced apart, and drill the holes to 13/32". Step drillsseem to be the easiest for the drilling task, Harbour Freight has an inexpensive set of three, and one of them has a13/32" step. 3/8" won't work, and 7/16" is a bit loose for a scuttle (in my opinion) or anything else that will beremoved rarely, but for your hood/bonnet you may well prefer 7/16"..


5 von 15 27.10.2013 23:15

Kinetic Vehicles http://www kineticvehicles com/dzus html


6/15

Test fit the parts. Push the stud into the hole in the scuttle from the outside, push the retainer washer (not visiblehere) onto the stud from the inside, fit the receptacle over the stud with the spiral-cam portion of the stud fitting ontothe spring portion of the receptacle, and give the stud a quarter turn, using a large screwdriver, small coin, or evenan authentic Dzus tool. This will hold the parts tightly together. Turn them so the base of the receptacle is properly

positioned to weld to the chassis, and do the same with the other three sets of parts.


6 von 15 27.10.2013 23:15



7/15

This is your opportunity to get the fit just right. You may need to grind the receptacle bases a bit, or sand the scuttlea bit, for an optimally attractive installation. In the case shown, we have to do a little of both. Once you have thereceptacles shaped and positioned just the way you want them, you can QUICKLY AND CAREFULLY tack weldthem in place.

The retainer washers hold the fiberglass away from the receptacles, and you can do a quick little spot with awire-feed welder without heating the fiberglass appreciably. Do one corner, move on to another receptacle, andafter the first one has cooled, tack the other corner. Then give all the studs a quarter turn clockwise and remove thescuttle..


7 von 15 27.10.2013 23:15



8/15

With the scuttle removed, finish weld the receptacles to the chassis. Only weld them on the back, or you'll have togrind the fiberglass away to fit over the weld bead in the front.

I'm showing you this side because you really don't want to see the back. If you've seen my Mallard Injected Guano

photo, you know what my welds look like.

p

8 von 15 27.10.2013 23:15



9/15

Replace the scuttle, give all the studs a quarter turn clockwise, and you're done. No flanges required, you canremove the scuttle with a dime if you need to, it's rock solid, it's clean, and it looks racy. And as you can see in theclose-up below...

p

9 von 15 27.10.2013 23:15



10/15

...the slots are horizontal.

But wait, there's more...

The above instructions were posted a year ago, here's what we've learned since then.

10 von 15 27.10.2013 23:15



11/15

Spring adjustment: depending on the thickness of the material you're Dzusing, your springs are likely to be too "tall"and turning the stud to lock will be difficult, or even impossible. If so, you'll want to scrunch them flatter. In the photoabove, the spring on the left is full height, and the spring on the right has been scrunched.

11 von 15 27.10.2013 23:15


12/15



13/15

As you see above, we now have extra tall plates available. You can cut them off (at the red line) as usual or leavethem long. Either way, by bending it out a bit (at the blue line) you can space the base away from the part you'reattaching, without having to use a spacer (such as the nylon washer that comes with our Dzus kit). A bit of space isnecessary, if you're mounting a fiberglass part so you don't burn the part when tack-welding the plate to the chassis,

or if it's a steel part, so you don't weld the part to the chassis along with the plate. There's no particular benddimension you have to meet, 1/8" will do the job. Use a pan brake or press brake if you have one, but the traditional(What Would Fred Flintstone Do?) technique of clamping it in a bench vise with the bend line at the top of the vise,placing a piece of wood against the upper part of the plate, and whapping the wood with a hammer, will do just fine.

If you like (and I'm sold on it myself) you can leave the plate long and put two bends in it, so the base can beclamped to the chassis before welding. If you clamp it securely, you can remove the part before tacking, which insome circumstances may make it easier to see what you're doing. You can do test fittings before warming up thewelder, and cut the base to length before you weld, or tack the full length base in place and cut off the overhang withan angle grinder and cutoff wheel.

13 von 15 27.10.2013 23:15



14/15

This photo was taken with the camera resting on the shift knob and shooting over the steering shaft, showing theinside rear of the hood/bonnet/engine cozy. The scuttle has been removed so I could take the picture; the plate onthe left side of the photo is the front scuttle mount. and the hood is mounted on a double-bent plate.

I hadn't noticed it before looking at this photo, but the hood mount plate was sure welded better than the scuttlemount plate. The scuttle mount plate is the one I mentioned earlier as "I'm showing you this side because you reallydon't want to see the back" but there it is. Two things are responsible for the difference in weld quality. First is, thescuttle was mounted a year ago and I've had some "stick time" since then. Second is--and this makes a hugedifference--I got some top-quality equipment in that year.

I'm now using a Millermatic 180 MIG welder with Auto-Set, so I 'm getting the current and wire speed right (I love it;instead of looking at charts and twirling two knobs while running test beads on scrap, I turn the Auto Set to 16 gaugeand get to work) and all the drive components are metal so the wire doesn't come out in jerks, and I got a MillerElite auto darkening helmet to replace the less-expensive-and-worth-it auto darkening helmet I'd used before. Ifyou're thinking, "Oh come now, what's the difference between a $400 helmet and a $79 helmet, they both go dark

14 von 15 27.10.2013 23:15



15/15

when it sparks," the difference is hard to explain, but easy to see (see photo above, YMMV but it works for me). Atthis rate, I may be able to retire my welding duck.

You may want to use aluminum pop rivets to do your fitting, then drill them out and remove the springs when paintingyour frame, then reinstall the springs with steel (or stainless steel) rivets. If you do, and you've done custom spring

scrunching, mark your springs (painter's tape is good) or you'll mix them up and have to rescrunch. Guess how Iknow this?

15 von 15 27.10.2013 23:15

Documents

Dzus Installation