- This topic has 3 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated November 18, 2005 at 2:04 pm by
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My project car came with two different rivet types to hold the Tiger I-Ia type side mouldings.
I tried the ones that I think were meant as a replacement for the real thing (mushroom tipped) and cost $5.00 each (I am told) . I was told not to pull them in with the gun until the nail breaks. I have tried to bring the mushroom tip a bit away from the body and clip the nail with cutters. I got one clip to work properly out of the row that’s supposed to hold the rear quarter’s moulding. I immediately understood the attractiveness of silicone proposed in another post.
I also had another bunch of rivets that had been hand-shaped into a design that works much better. I managed to install one door moulding with this modified rivet and it worked quite well.
Since I did not have enough rivets to proceed, I had to make a decision: do I order rivets, or do I figure out how to make them.
A half-hearted effort gave me a couple of unimpressive rivets. Automation and standardization were going to be required to succeed.
The rivets are stainless 3/8-long, for 1/8 hole with a 1/4 head. the rivet’s head is filed down to .23-.27 in diameter to split it in two. For consistency I hold the rivet in a drill chuck and spin it like it would on a lathe to file it down. The head is then shaped into a barrell by tapping it into the inside of a series (I use 4) of 1/4″ brake line dies, down to about 0.195in diameter. I then mount the stud into the chuck of my drill again and file the barrell down to its final diameter of 0.16in. I measured a clearance of 0.147in. space for the clip at the moulding. I may still have to fine tune the interference.
This rivet is very forgiving because the barrell provides depth control, where the mushroom-headed ones either work, or they don’t. It works better in areas where the paint is deeper, as in with some filler under it. My car has none of that of course, so I do not know why I would talk about it.
Fight the man! make your own moulding rivets. I got 25 made in one hour. I am slowly filing my drill chuck away.
Cheers, Gilles
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I cannot find a way to post them here but if you email me at gilles12@sympatico.ca I will reply with attachments
Cheers, Gilles
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They republished one of my old tech tips in the last TE/AE newsletter. There are alternatives to the rivets. Find some nylon screws that have heads that just fit inside the trim. I used 4-40’s, but other sizes might fit depending on the head style. Lowes, HD, and many local HW stores carry a good variety. In many locations on the car I could put nuts on the back, making then easily removable. In others, I just glued the screws into the old rivet holes using RTV.
The advantages: No dissimilar metals corrosion problems, no stressing the area around the hole especially if there is some filler involved.
I don’t know how long these screws will last since mine have only been in place since 1978….
Stu Brennan
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