Mounting fender emblems should not cause this much anxiety!

[Keith Seymore]

All of the bright trim and emblems on this vehicle are held on with 3M two sided tape.

K

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[ChuckN]

I would not drill holes. Cut studs off and use 3M double sided tape. Mine have held on strong for 11 years now.

That, or there is a good trim adhesive in a tube that 3M makes. I put my emblems on with that. Also used some 3M adhesion promoter (auto body shops will sell them in little packs). Seemed to do the trick for me.

The double sided tape is tough stuff and works great- it came already applied to my pre-cut side molding and they seem rock solid.

 

[CalSgt]

No vote on how you get the job done but,

I’ve never used the 3M “scotch” two sided tape but scotch is usually one of their higher line products.

I have used the 3M VHB and it is some tough stuff. It’s what comes on GoPro mounts and I’ve seen it on some other vehicle moldings. My brother in law used it to mount solar panels on the roof of his motor home too, their still up there after 2 years.

The scotch and VHB look similar but VHB has “3M VHB” printed all over the reed peel off strip.

 

[mxer147]

Those older style emblems have a lot of space between the letters which will require a lot of intricate tape surgery versus the newer style has none. They also are hollow behind the letters so not much surface area for adhesive tape. I’m planning to fill epoxy in a couple of areas of the letters so I can add a little bit of tape in addition to the two pegs. Tape will be more for protecting my orange peel paint.

 

[Goldilocks77]

Let me go look and see if I still have the fenders from my 77. I can make you a cardboard template and just mail it to you.

That, sir, would be amazing. Let me know if you find them and I will gladly give you my address. Let me know if there is any postage I can cover for you. Thank you!

 

[Goldilocks77]

Those older style emblems have a lot of space between the letters which will require a lot of intricate tape surgery versus the newer style has none. They also are hollow behind the letters so not much surface area for adhesive tape. I’m planning to fill epoxy in a couple of areas of the letters so I can add a little bit of tape in addition to the two pegs. Tape will be more for protecting my orange peel paint.

Yessir. I am seeing the same issue with the tape on mine. There is a 3/16” gap on most areas

 

[Grit dog]

Yessir. I am seeing the same issue with the tape on mine. There is a 3/16” gap on most areas

If it’s a nice truck and you want them emblems on for the long haul just drill it. Tape is honestly more of a pain in some scenarios like yours imo.
Make a template then you can measure the stud locations and mark them. Tape the templates to the truck and adjust til you like where they sit. Then mark the holes.
Sounds worse than it is but template makes it easy.
Barrel nut them in like you originally said and they’re on for good. Drill the right size hole. Too big and you’re screwed.

 

[Grit dog]

That, or there is a good trim adhesive in a tube that 3M makes. I put my emblems on with that. Also used some 3M adhesion promoter (auto body shops will sell them in little packs). Seemed to do the trick for me.

The double sided tape is tough stuff and works great- it came already applied to my pre-cut side molding and they seem rock solid.

Agree with everything. Except I got a set of belt line trim with crappy adhesive. Even installed it in the heat of summer. Have pulled and re-taped with same VHB, probably half the pieces.

 

[ChuckN]

Agree with everything. Except I got a set of belt line trim with crappy adhesive. Even installed it in the heat of summer. Have pulled and re-taped with same VHB, probably half the pieces.

What company did you use? Not that it matters, probably all the same kit sold by different brands. And they all probably use the same 3M tape. Mine was Route LA, since LMC was out.

 

[Sad Sack]

So, I’ve had ol Goldilocks for eight years. 1977 C20 Custom Deluxe. She is basically “debadged”. Not my doing, but I’ve always thought she’d look sexy with a pair of fresh original repro fender emblems.
Enter my mental anguish. I bought a pair knowing in advance the conundrum. They are sexy tho… The badges come with a pair of 3/16” diameter unthreaded mounting pegs. My truck doesn’t have mounting holes for the badges.
Here is my issue: does anyone know of a template or otherwise possess the measurements for proper mounting locations? The back of the emblem has a radius to it, so it matters what height you mount the emblems so that it sits flush. I would also have to pick up some barrel nuts because I don’t want to pull the fender off to screw the nuts on. Plus, do I really want to drill holes in my damn fenders??
Enter Plan B. I could use many layers of scotch extreme mounting double stick tape. It actually works pretty good but I would be fairly upset if it failed and I got to watch my $60 emblems go bouncing down the highway to their death. I could also use that black mounting goo, but if I apply it wrong on the back of the emblem and it squishes out, it’s kind of a hard to reverse eff up.
I have an obviously bad habit of overthinking the hell out of these types of problems, but I know there is wisdom to be found in these forums and so I call upon my fellow problem solvers. At the moment, I am leaning heavily towards the scotch double-stick tape. What does everybody think?

Get a fabric measuring tape, find a truck like yours and kindly ask to measure his emblem. If you get slapped or slugged don't blame me.

 

[Broken85]

My suggestion is not to drill or use tape. As stated above, you are going to see the tape through the emblem unless you want to play arts&crafts with an exact-o knife. And that adhesive tape is not as strong as emblem adhesive. Not only are you going to pierce a really nice paint job, but it will only be held on with two 3/16” studs (which admittedly was good enough for GM) but not as strong as full surface adhesion with good emblem adhesive.

I am also not sure you can get to those studs to put the nuts on the back with the fender still on the truck. That little factoid might make your decision making process easier.

 

[Frankenchevy]

Another vote for 3m VHB tape if you don’t want to drill. Comes in many widths.

If substrates are properly prepped, it is very strong. It is used for massive pieces of glass, panels on trailers, etc.

Your emblems will be good. I like Shawn’s idea for the template. Whether or not you choose to drill, it’ll aid in alignment.

 

[waterpirate]

He said "protect the orange peel paint"
Priceless

 

[ali_c20]

I drilled holes for all my emblems on my 79 K5 and had the fenders off. Measure three times before you drill. Or four. I went for mounting with screws cause I don't want them to fall off on the highway cause of aging adhesives.

 

[Goldilocks77]

I wrote a reply around 8:30 this morning and strangely, it didn’t show up. I don’t remember exactly what I said but basically thank you all for all of your advice and insight. I still haven’t fully made my decision. Either way, I’ll need more parts and materials before I pull the trigger. After everyone’s input, I am now leaning towards drilling.