Modern Vespa

I recently found a vintage solid nickel St Christopher badge from Europe that was intended to be mounted (bolted) to the dashboard.



I'm rather keen to display this on the inside of my legshield on my GTV, but I am not too keen to drill holes in glovebox. Pretty much all of the panels/body parts on the back side of the GTV legshield are not magnetic (i.e. plastic), but, interestingly, there is a metal panel attached to the inside of the glovebox door (where the OEM warning and circuitry stickers are attached).



I have several ridiculously strong rare-earth magnets (25-30 lb holding power) from a prior project, and have noticed that these magnets will stick very robustly (as in removing it is a difficult act of brute force) to the outside of the glovebox door through the plastic. I am thinking of gluing one of these to the back of the St Christopher medallion, and then sticking it to the outside of the glovebox (as in photo below). Although this will not be totally theft-proof, it should keep the medallion in place without worry of it dislodging while driving around.



Is there anything inside the front leg shield that I should worry about being negatively affected by having the magnetic field from the super-strong magnet in close proximity?

In the other non-magnetic direction of thought, I see that Motorsport sells unpainted GTS/GTV glove box doors (and black ones), does anyone have suggestions (besides trawling ebay daily for parts from a wreck) as to where one could source a prepainted (portofino green) glove box door? I would be far more fearless about drilling a hole in my plastic bits if I had a matching spare handy...

Double sided auto body tape?

^^^^ that's what I would use. Magnets will move around a little and scratch the painted surface.

For something with that intrinsic value I would frame it and put it on the wall at home, and get a nice plastic St C and put that on.

If you must use that attach several such magnets to the medal with the strongest possible auto accessory tape. Also, get a couple of flat head screws, cut off the heads, and glue the heads on so it looks as if the thing is actually bolted on.

Magnets and suction cups will always fail, and there are people who will steal anything. (My cynical philosophy on life.)

It's nickel? Solid nickel? Magnets won't work - nickel isn't ferrous, it's non-magnetic.

dan...anything glued to a magnet will be quite attractive to another magnet...it's nature, donchaknow...


but...seeing as you've already pierced your knee pad...why not bolt it to either side knee pad?

This sounds like a winner including the faux screws.

i took, what i thought was an equivalent size 'disk'(3" jar lid) and went downstairs to check cuz there was something buggin' me about this. the glove box hatch is a compound curve. the edges of the lid had open areas on either side. does your s.c.m. exhibit this?
i also laid the lid across the rt knee pad and there was no spacing between it and the knee pad.
hth

bloody hell thats massive ... put some felt on the back and use it as a beer coaster

ohh wasnt st chris 'demoted'

Okay, so no concerns about uber-strong magnetic field messing with any of the electronics in the legshield? Hmmm... I am not well versed in car modding/ornamentation, assume this must be significantly stickier stuff than the typical household-use double sided foam-ish tape sold as an office supply? Right. It is indeed not magnetic, that's why I started the thread with the idea of gluing one of the rare earth magnets to the back of the medallion. That actually is the Scooterwest accessory powerplug kneeshield, I still have the original/OEM black kneepads that come with the GTV intact, these come (in brown to match the seat leather) pre-drilled and pre-wired for the power socket, it is a plug and play 5 minute install:

But this is a good location idea... I was fixated on mounting someplace to stick a magnet, but the medallion would look nice and "balanced" on the right kneepad, since I already have the socket on the left knee pad. The medallion back surface is totally flat, and I was thinking of then gluing the smaller magnet to that back surface. I have rare earth magnets that are 1" dia by 1/8" thick (pull 10ish lbs of force) and some that are 1.5" dia by 1/4" thick (and pull 30lbs of force). There would be an airgap between the back of the medallion around the edges beyond where the magnet is glued and the face of the glovebox the thickness of the magnet (which may not look "great" but did account for the lack of flatness of the door). Both magnets cover a small enough surface area to rest smoothly against the glovebox door in full contact with the surface.

I am really liking the idea of mounting to the right knee shield. Especially since I can go back and buy a spare brown plastic one fairly cheaply from Motorsport to drill through, and if it doesn't work out, still have this one that is unmolested. I can then bolt the medallion to/through the plastic, and solve the unsightly unfilled screw-hole issue (instead of gluing screw heads to fill the holes - which was a good suggestion if I end up not bolting on the medallion). Well... my (girl sized) hands wear a size XS riding glove, so, not THAT massive, the medallion is a little less than 2.5" diameter - I suppose you could barely perch a beer can within its circumference? (or at least the first couple while motor skills are still fully intact )

I think seeing the vintage medallion on the scoot every time I ride will make me quite happy, and give me more joy than keeping it "safe" some place in my house. I was the kind of kid, even when quite young, when given birthday-cash instead of a toy/gift from relatives, who would always squirrel it away in a shoebox and never actually go buy anything I really wanted with it.

I am trying to evolve into the kind of adult who is not afraid to use my nice things, and get some joy out of owning them? My GTV lives a pretty sheltered life most of the time, in my garage, or inside the small secured access parking garage where I work. Part of the charm of using magnets (instead of bolting on) is that I can pop the medallion off and toss in the glovebox if I think of it if/when I park someplace outside where the scoot will be "alone" for a while.

But, yeah, mean people suck, and they are out there...

thought that idea might appeal.
plus you can actually bolt it on, instead of that aery magnet silliness...
i'd use a nice sized fender washer behind the knee pad, drill a couple holes and hell, maybe even use brass screws on the front...nice colour contrast(a little "silver"...a little "gold") 'if madam likes'...


i'm a jeweller...

oh...is the back solid, as well? or a little hollow? if so, you'll probably want to fill it in with an appropriate washer between the back of the medallion and the front of the knee pad, so it doesn't compress the metal when you tighten it...just a heads up.

Umm... not sir Yes, we seem to have similar aesthetic tendencies, a little "pop" of brass may be just the right detail here Completely flat not hollow at all, would rest very snugly against the flat kneepad.

oops...sorry...and i read and you said "girl sized" hands...some men have small hands and thought...well...never mind...

Yes, officially St. Chris is no longer the protector and patron saint of travellers.

However, as my wife always says: "Can't hurt, might help."

I have St. Chris on each of my vehicle keychains, those dashboard medallions are absolutely beautiful. I'd drill my kneepad and attach with carriage bolts or rivets(no slot on the head).

P

Another thing to keep in mind, depending on the size of the coin, the glovebox has a curve to it so you may have to bend the coin so it lays flat. I have a badge on my glovebox that required me to shape it in a way to be able to secure it safely.

I have a strip of 3m body tape I can mail you if you need.

Officially, no. Practically...He still is.

I have a medallion in each car, on my kayak, scooter and motorcycle.
St. Christopher gets around.

D'Oh! Missed that part about gluing the magnet to the underside of the shield... Carry on!