Door ferrules or ferrells what ever

[Michael C Henry]

If Everett-Morrison says its stuff is Stainless Steel Than it is Stainless Steel. The Ferrules from EM are intended to be installed in fiberglass bodied cars. They are 3/8"ID and 1/2"OD. Threaded externally with 1/2x13 NF nut and takes a 3/4" wrench. The ferrules have a blind hole with a solid bottom that the soft top and side curtain frames set into so the weight is being supported off the bottom and the side curtain bottom seal is not being crushed between. The ferrules flat top head is intended to help when installing the top or side curtain s so the tips of the support frames will stay on top and maybe find the hole and not be constantly falling to the side and dinging the painted body surfaces.

Another thing the aluminum bodied cars have a short lengths of pipe under the body surface that hold their smooth ferrules. They tend to have three ferruled per side on the doors. The ferrules end up being located near places where you might place yore arm, so those ferrules have rounded heads to save your arms. The fiber glass EM cars have only two side curtain frame down legs per side and are not anywhere you might place your arm, so the flat heads are better left flat. I over thought and rounded the ferrules I had from EM in their kits and had to buy another set of eight ferrules with nuts, and star washers. I just happened to catch someone in the office during the Covid closure an they sold and shipped replacement ferrules for $99.99. I did it to myself. I have the soft installed by "Convertibles Only" in Seattle. When they drilled the body for the soft top hoop frame ferrules, They caught the tops of the door latch support frames that are where the door latches catch, the drill caught an jerk side ways . The body hole is enlarged and the metal member was all ragged . I removed the metal frames and ground them for smoothness and for the ferrule and hut to fit through. I epoxied the hole to form the exact 1/2" round hole. I epoxied A SS fender washer under each hole to make a reinforced hole with a parallel surface for the nut to tighten to. The body hole looks great the excess hole filled by the epoxy is covered an not seen. Those frames had been painted earlier with Rust Oleum gloss black paint. The left side went great with the repaint as the weather was nice. the right side is not going well as the weather turned, it's cold an cloudy with wind. I discovered yet more I didn't know I didn't know. With Rust Oleum spray paint, The paint has to go beyond dry to cured before re spraying or else it wrinkles and has to be redone.