Rivit replacement with fiberglass

[Chris H.]

I had to take out the bracket support that holds on my gas door assembly on my 62 because the threads were gone on the stud.

This part was held on with two steel 1/8" rivits with the "smashed" part facing out. I searched the archives but the only reference on how to replace rivits was to put the part on a piece of steel and use a hammer to flatten out the rivit. This does not work when the part is on the car and there is fiberglass involved.

What do you guys use to replace the visible rivits and where do I get them? It is also a bit deep into the filler opening so access is a bit restricted.

I also want to replace the wire looms in the trunk which are also held on by rivits.

Thanks. Chris

[Steve Wallach]

Re: Rivit replacement with fiberglass

Can you get enough access for a backer bar of some sort and then use an air hammer with a riveting bit?

Another thing you can use, is a an "Aircraft Riveter" which is sort of like a manual pruning sheer, but with rivet bits that smash the rivets. You can get these on ebay, but I don't know if you would have enough access?

Good Luck,

Steve

[Gary C.]

Re: Rivit replacement with fiberglass

Chris, perhaps you could put a screw/bolt in place and disguise/grind the head to look like a rivet. Or JB weld and grind it to appear like a rivet head. Gary....

[Chris H.]

Re: Rivit replacement with fiberglass

I can get access to to the back of the rivet. Not great but should be able to.

I see 4 different kinds on ebay. One looks like a powered pop rivet tool which is not what I want.

http://cgi.ebay.com/AIR-RIVETING-TOOL-HIGH-POWER-AIRCRAFT-RIVETER-NEW_W0QQitemZ300028953527QQihZ020QQcategoryZ55809QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

The other is pretty complicated with lots of parts. Which looks like the one that would do the job but with a whole lot of extra stuff I will ever need.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Chicago-CP-3x-444-Rivet-Gun-Riveter-Aircraft-Tools_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ34999QQihZ004QQitemZ140029490598QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

I think this is the shears type. Would not work in this case.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Power-Riveter-and-Hole-Punch_W0QQitemZ130027217468QQihZ003QQcategoryZ28133QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I did find this one though which would work because I can insert the tool thru the gas pipe hole.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/US-3-Rivet-Squeezer-Riveter-Dies-Extra-Head-3-16-Kit_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ34999QQihZ012QQitemZ220028244486QQrdZ1

Has anybody used anyu of these and do they give a good rivet look?

Chris

[Steve Wallach]

Re: Rivit replacement with fiberglass

There is another type not shown in your links, it's a manual version of the one you thought might work. I got one off of ebay some time ago. I'll see if I can find a listing for one.

Steve

[Steve Wallach]

Re: Rivit replacement with fiberglass

Take a look at item number 300029815175 this may also work for your purposes?

Cheers,

Steve

[Chuck S.]

Re: Rivit replacement with fiberglass

You can buy a rivet peening tool from various Corvette vendors...it's a round bar about 5" long and 3/4" in diameter; some of them have a dimple in the business end.

If you have access to the back side (you must have access to install a rivet), have a friend use a 3# engineer's hammer or other heavy tool against the formed head of the rivet, and use the rivet peening tool with an ordinary carpenter's hammer. It will take a few blows to get it like you want it, but it will make a peened head that looks just like factory.

Be sure to start with the proper length rivet shank if you want it to look right after you are done. This is determined by part number (see your AIM). The rivets are sold in about four different lengths, but if you need something in-between you have to cut the rivet shank to proper length. Dr. Rebuild has a table of part numbers and shank lengths. Your C1 will use the round headed rivets rather than the big flat head rivets used in C2 and C3.

[Chris H.]

Re: Rivit replacement with fiberglass

Yes, that looks like it would work. Anybody in Detroit area have one to borrow?

Thanks, Chris

[Chris H.]

Re: Rivit replacement with fiberglass

Thanks, my rivets are part of an assembly so there are no part numbers. However the material thickness is .125" and the diameter id 3/16". How much rivet should stick thru before peening?

Chris

[Chuck S.]

Re: Rivit replacement with fiberglass

Extrapolating my C3 knowledge to a C1...hmmmm...Well, let's say riveting a harness clip to the LH inner fender on a C3 is about the same.

That would mean about 0.080"-0.100" inches of fiberglass, plus 0.045" of clip thickness...that application takes PN 455624 (same rivet as on your car), and it's 3/16" X 0.500" long. Treat that as a starting point; since it's an assembly, you're peening against steel...if it ain't right, cut off the peened head and knock it out, or drill it out, and try again.

If you're doing a restoration, best strategy on these rivets is to simply buy one quantity of the longest rivets available, and cut them to the length you need, rather than try to buy the correct lengths and have four almost-full bags of rivets setting around after you're done. Once they're peened, they all look the same.

[John M.]

Re: Rivit replacement with fiberglass

The tail of the rivet should stick out past the material about 1.5 X the diameter of the rivet before it is set. The tail of the rivet should expand to 1.5 X the original diameter of the rivet after it is set. You might want to check this link: http://www.yardstore.com/index.cfm?A...y&Category=111

These guys sell surplus aircraft rivet sets at bargain prices. These sets will fit in a standard air hammer that you can buy at Home Depot, so you really don't need to buy a dedicated rivet gun for just occasional use. The air hammer hits much harder than a rivet gun, but you can just turn the air pressure down, and it will work fine. The set is concaved to fit the head of the rivet. You put the set on top of the rivet, press hard against it, and have someone back up the tail of the rivet with a steel bucking bar. These guys also have a wide variety of bucking bars, but any chunck of steel will work if you can get it in there.

for C2 cars, they also sell flush sets that are flat on the bottom to drive those rivets. This beats the hell out of banging on the fiberglass with a hammer, and the finished produvct should look as the original rivet did.

Regards, John McGraw

[Chris H.]

Re: Rivit replacement with fiberglass

Thanks, so I need the following for a 3/16" rivet.

Rivet Set 3.5'' Straight 3/16''

I did say I could get at the backside but it could be real tough. Does this sqeezer thing work well? Not too expensive and I do have a bunch of rivets and tend to work alone.

http://www.yardstore.com/index.cfm?a...83&Category=97

[John M.]

Re: Rivit replacement with fiberglass

The squeezer will only work if the rivet is close enough to an edge where you can reach both the head and tail with the squeeze. They are usually only used for bench work on small sub-assemblies because of this limitation.

They have a bunch of different bucking bars that are designed to get into tight spaces and around obstructions. I have a selection of at least 20 different bucking bars left over from my days as an aircraft mechanic that can get in almost any space you can think of. It is not real hard to train someone to buck rivets, even your wife! I know what you mean though, because I work alone as well, but I have a couple of my friends trained to buck rivets that I can call on. The learning curve on driving and bucking rivets is very short, and in just a few minutes, you should be able to make great looking rivets.

Regards, John McGraw

[John M.]

Re: Rivit replacement with fiberglass

You may also want to consider pop rivets if the rivet is pretty well hidden. You can take a little body filler, and fill the hole left by the stem, sand it a little, and if not out in the open, nobody will probably ever be able to tell.
I am a big fan of putting original style rivets back in wherever possible, but some locations are pretty much impossible since the part was riveted before being installed in the body, and access is impossible.

Regards, John McGraw

[Chris H.]

Re: Rivit replacement with fiberglass

Thanks, I will order one of the tools.