Speed bump

I ran into a problem as I was prepping the bus to go to paint. The lower backing plate for the screws on rear cargo door had come loose and fallen down the channel that it is contained within.

The first thing I did was try to fish it out using one of my favorite tools. I telescoping magnet. When I shoved it down the screw hole, my tool snapped. I was pissed to say the least. Now I had to make a cut to retrieve my tool and fix the problem.

From the interior, I made a three inch cut on the rear of the vertical stringer for fishing and to get at the backing plate. I only cut three sides and then pried it open like a hinge. My tool was in plain view when I opened it up.

When I pulled my crippled little magnet out, the backing plate came out with it.

Here you see the tab that is designed to keep the backing plate from falling. What happens is, as you unscrew the bolts holding the hinge in place, the plate puts pressure on the tab and pushes it away from it's designed position. After the screws come out, the nutplate falls. I think it's a good thing that my magnet broke because there is no way I could've fished the nut plate back to it's proper position. Even If I managed to to so, it most likely would've fallen the next time I pulled the door off. So I repositioned the backing plate and used a screwdriver to bend the tab back into it's proper position. After I cleaned up the inside a little, I bent my little hinge back in place and promptly ran some of the worst welds of my short career to finish up.