im in the process of putting the stock rear suspension under my 50 f-1. i went to the yard today and was able to recover some springs, and swing shackles off an identical truck. the only thing i now need would be the "shackle mounts" which we're originally riveted on to the frames. my question, is if i hit it with a centerpunch, and just tryed to drill out the rivet head, would it be as easy as it sounds. i checked another thread finding out that a guy had to use a torch and an air chisel, which would be impossible at a JY. and i dont want to spend $120 on new ones from LMC. so is this feasable, or am i going to waste my time and fry a buch of drill bits haha.
cut the head off with a grinder......faster than trying to drill it out and grinding discs are cheaper than drill bits
Or if they are not that big of rivet, use a big hammer and a nice big sharp chissle. Sounds nuts, but I've done it before taking out F-1 crossmembers and 32 Ford K members. Nice whan theres no power and/or no sparks allowed
All those ideas will work, and to answer your original question, YES you can drill them out. Start small and drill in 3 or 4 steps. use cutting oil
Midfifty has them for sale. Otherwise what was said. At home an air hammer with center punch bit works well. Just watch where they fly, lol.
thats the thing...theyre on a truck in the junkyard haha, no air or power. and theres 16 or these mofos to "chisel" off. stil think it'd be possible
i was able to get permission of the JY owner to bring my 1000w portable generator in to cut the front end off an ole truck. my sawsall would not come up to speed from a 'dead stop'. had to gun-it til it was up to 'speed'. THEN WORK SLOWLY TIL THE JOB WAS DONE! a 4 inch grinder 'should' allow you to remove the rivet head, then it is 'big hammer time w/ a line punch!' my JY owner was afraid of a fire, IF i was allowed 'use' my small bottle tradesman acetylene/oxygen tanks, to the ole truck........ BUT the generator was OK. REMEMBER to bring a fire extinguisher to the 'work site', the JY owner will be impressed w/ your safety measures. IF YOU ARE SUCCESSFUL AT GETTING HIS APPROVAL, THAT IS! my little generator has paid for itself many times over in situations like this! red ryder
all the above will work.this is what worked for me .it is very easy to do.center punch the rivit.drill through the head only with a 1/4 " bit, slice the head off with a nice sharp chisel.then drive it out with a punch....i have removed alot of rivits this way..even under trucks at the junkyard...its like ****er....just take a extra battery for the drill with you to be safe...good luck....dave
chiselling the heads off the rivets is easy usually only a few solid hits will cut them off BUT use a BFH of 3 pounds or better if you can swing it that long(meaning for the 20 or so rivets) .Using a light hammer just lets the hammer bounce if you have a steel faced dead blow use it.Rivets of this type are not hardened they cut very easy with a good chisel I have one that's 1 inch wide and I ground it all to one side it lays almost flat to the surface so it can slide under the rivet head with this chisel I have cut rivets out of a 87 Chevy 4x4 frame in as little as 2 hits with a 3 pound hammer but I have been a blacksmith for quite a few years and got used to swinging a hammer!Cut the heads off then just punch the body of the rivet through the mounts with a punch that is close to the OD of the rivet shank using too small a punch will just flare the tip of the cut rivet tighter in the hole.
Maybe the wrecking yard would torch off the back of the frame for you and you could do all of your drilling at home. Ask them!
lol, yeah I use a nice 2lb. one and a chisel with a hand guard. the hand guard helps. Takes a couple good swings and boom there goes the head.
as to the hot hodding as a beauty contest or a fashion show this is so true . if you cant do it ALL in a one car garage.as it was done back then .you are just a byre. not a hot rodder . THE RIVETS YOU GOT TO LAY ON YOUR BACK . IN THE MUD AND RAIN (COLD 2)WITH A SMALL HAMMER CHIPPED CHISEL AND YOU JUST HIT YOUR THUM .ONE MORE HIT IT WILL FALL OFF . HA HA HA HA
Studman, how about you do an intro, like the rules say. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=44274 Then maybe re-write this post so it makes sense.
by the way studman is a misprint the right posting was to be STUDE MAN AS IN STUDEBAKER MAN NOT a *** symbol sorry about the mix up .
Have the wrecking yard torch the heads off em then SLAM them out with a BFH and a punch. I replaced all of the rivets on my old truck with grade 8 bolts and lock nuts when I flipped them upside down
This idea gets my vote. I've tried the cordless grinder in a junkyard and barely got the u-bolts cut on one axle with two battery packs. Also had some recent experiences with black widows and a mama spider carrying a million babies on its back running towards me that have creeped me out about laying under a truck in my backyard let alone in a junkyard. Also makes it easier to get to the backside so that you don't chew up the front of the spring hanger with the chisel. I've taken a ton of these off F1s and usually grind the head off then drive out with a big punch and a BFH. Harbor Freight sells 4 big punches for around ten bucks.
Yeah, I had the "K" member out of a 32 frame (12 rivets total I think) in about 20 minutes. Your right, nice SOLID hammer and a good long sharp chisel that will get under the heads and 3-5 good hits and your done for the next one. Most junk yards around here will not let any sort of saw or drill (even cordless) into the yard, and if they will torch it for you it's usually a 50.00 charge.
2 new chisels and a BFH! that old steel takes the edge off chisels quick and a dull chisel will slow you down.
The really cl*** junkyards used to have one of those hand-crank grinders bolted to the office wall so you could re-sharpen your chisel...most likely you will need to take in several good chisels so you can keep a sharp one in action. A cordless grinder most likely will not have enough endurance to do the rivets, but might be useful to keep the stone-age tech sharp! Chisels are a forgotten technology now...most young people cannot imagine cutting metal without electricity. Chisels can also do a good job on sheetmetal in a junkyard, if you need something like a floor out of an old body.
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