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On many occassions I see well restored cars with ratty old fasteners on tail light and front indicator lenses. This small detail really bugs me. The screws used on the lenses are next to impossible to find. They are not a traditional pan head phillips. They are called fillister head screws. Pan head screws have a a rounded head with rounded sides. Fillister screws have a rounded head with straight sides. The head also is a little less than 7mm in diameter and has a little taller profile than a pan head. Another characteristic of the screws Alfa used is that they are partially threaded. This allows them to stay with the lens when the lens is removed.
It's very easy to make your own fillister head screw from a pan head. I used fully threaded pan head phillips screws and turned down the head. It's best to used stainless screws as they will not corrode. If you use a plated screw, the new surface that is created during the turning process will corrode.
I used a drill and dremel to make the new screws. I started by double nutting (is that a real word?) the screw and placing it in the drill chuck. I placed a sanding disk on the dremel. If you have a reversable drill, make sure that it is spinning in the opposite direction or the dremel. This method ensures getting a nicely rounded head. The diameter of the head needs to be turned down to something less than 7mm. I used another attachment on the dremel to turn down the threads nearest the screw head. This will ensure that the screw won't bind on the small lip in the lens screw hole. An option to doing this is to carefully file the lip off the hole.
It's very easy to make your own fillister head screw from a pan head. I used fully threaded pan head phillips screws and turned down the head. It's best to used stainless screws as they will not corrode. If you use a plated screw, the new surface that is created during the turning process will corrode.
I used a drill and dremel to make the new screws. I started by double nutting (is that a real word?) the screw and placing it in the drill chuck. I placed a sanding disk on the dremel. If you have a reversable drill, make sure that it is spinning in the opposite direction or the dremel. This method ensures getting a nicely rounded head. The diameter of the head needs to be turned down to something less than 7mm. I used another attachment on the dremel to turn down the threads nearest the screw head. This will ensure that the screw won't bind on the small lip in the lens screw hole. An option to doing this is to carefully file the lip off the hole.
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