hardware store
Well I don't know of a Lowe's in the Portland Oregon area, but your point is well taken. There are tons of items that can be gotten off the shelf at hardware stores, car shops, etc etc. Unfortunately, it is a matter of either having already been there and seen item(s) that you need / want, or going hunting for the items.
That's where this forum is so valuable, having people who have been there and done that makes it easier for the rest of us. I don't know if Parkrose Hardware here in Portland would have it, but they are the renowned source of impossible to get hardware, so I'll go check them out, but once again, I'm going hunting. Wish I had a Lowe's then I'd just ask you for the part number or other identifying number(s), manufacturer, etc.
But on the subject of retrieving the little pins:
I popped my plastic pieces out of the back recently, since I have to swap out my fuel tank, and I also want to replace my vent hoses. In the process, of course, all the pins went down inside the fender and down towards the rocker panel.
Great I thought, I'll never be able to get those suckers out. Then I had an idea.
Swiping a knee high nylon from my wife, I inserted it into the hose of my shop vac, then turned the elastic back over the hose and duct-taped it in place. Then I grabbed one of the sections of fuel hose for my vent line swap, and inserted this inside the nylon which itself was inside the shop vac hose. By doing this I created a screen net which would trap anything being sucked into the vac without having to open the vacuum up.
Turned on the vac, and inserted the heater hose into the small holes on the side of the panel beneath the quarter window. Success!! Not only did I retrieve all my little pins, but I came up with a few extra that apparently had been lost there long ago.
Now this seems like a simple thing so why the big deal? Well, I didn't just suck up the pins, I also sucked up all sorts of crud and dirt and other items that were moist and probably going to give me trouble down the road. So I continued with both sides, and all the way back to the lights. If you've never done this to your car, you might want to consider it. There was an incredible amount of dirt, lint, and other moisture trapping items in there. With Z's being notorious for rusting, I think it's a good idea to get rid of and minimize the possibilities of rust.
So, for what it's worth, here's the idea for others to try. Now if some of you can tell me how to get dirt, rust and oil stains out of a knee high, I'll never get into trouble over it.
Well I don't know of a Lowe's in the Portland Oregon area, but your point is well taken. There are tons of items that can be gotten off the shelf at hardware stores, car shops, etc etc. Unfortunately, it is a matter of either having already been there and seen item(s) that you need / want, or going hunting for the items.
That's where this forum is so valuable, having people who have been there and done that makes it easier for the rest of us. I don't know if Parkrose Hardware here in Portland would have it, but they are the renowned source of impossible to get hardware, so I'll go check them out, but once again, I'm going hunting. Wish I had a Lowe's then I'd just ask you for the part number or other identifying number(s), manufacturer, etc.
But on the subject of retrieving the little pins:
I popped my plastic pieces out of the back recently, since I have to swap out my fuel tank, and I also want to replace my vent hoses. In the process, of course, all the pins went down inside the fender and down towards the rocker panel.
Great I thought, I'll never be able to get those suckers out. Then I had an idea.
Swiping a knee high nylon from my wife, I inserted it into the hose of my shop vac, then turned the elastic back over the hose and duct-taped it in place. Then I grabbed one of the sections of fuel hose for my vent line swap, and inserted this inside the nylon which itself was inside the shop vac hose. By doing this I created a screen net which would trap anything being sucked into the vac without having to open the vacuum up.
Turned on the vac, and inserted the heater hose into the small holes on the side of the panel beneath the quarter window. Success!! Not only did I retrieve all my little pins, but I came up with a few extra that apparently had been lost there long ago.
Now this seems like a simple thing so why the big deal? Well, I didn't just suck up the pins, I also sucked up all sorts of crud and dirt and other items that were moist and probably going to give me trouble down the road. So I continued with both sides, and all the way back to the lights. If you've never done this to your car, you might want to consider it. There was an incredible amount of dirt, lint, and other moisture trapping items in there. With Z's being notorious for rusting, I think it's a good idea to get rid of and minimize the possibilities of rust.
So, for what it's worth, here's the idea for others to try. Now if some of you can tell me how to get dirt, rust and oil stains out of a knee high, I'll never get into trouble over it.
