Rivet Selection
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 3,930
Likes: 15
From: Calgary Alberta
Rivet Selection
My vette it a frame off restomod - it doesn't bother me if it isn't original. So, in saying that, do I need to use factory rivets for strength purposes? I want to use all pop rivets, but I'm not to sure they are strong enough. Are they just as strong as the factory ones? They sell tons of sizes too.
Drifting
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 1,991
Likes: 3
From: Piscataway NJ
A good industrial hardware supply will have the pop rivets with the large head. Thats where I got mine. They work very well. They are tough I went through two rivet guns. Same dia. as the original rivets and have a reach of 1/2 or 1 inch.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 8,339
Likes: 24
From: I can walk to MA
I see no issues with the pop rivets I used to reattach firewall, etc.
Big head ... can't hurt, but I didn't use 'em.
Most important for strength is to use stainless steel pop rivets ... not aluminum.
1/4" worked for most places, but some needed 1/2" length.
Don't forget to use backer washers whenever possible.
http://webpages.charter.net/davekimt...pop_rivets.jpg
Big head ... can't hurt, but I didn't use 'em.
Most important for strength is to use stainless steel pop rivets ... not aluminum.
1/4" worked for most places, but some needed 1/2" length.
Don't forget to use backer washers whenever possible.
http://webpages.charter.net/davekimt...pop_rivets.jpg
Drifting
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 1,486
Likes: 10
From: Big Pine Key FL
quarter inch solid body blind rivets.... and a Marson air over hydraulic rivet gun
I use it ALL the time from putting E-track in commercial trucks and trailers to Corvette body mounts to making fuel cell plates to repairing snowmobile chassis....
get a set of clecos and cleco pliers and you will be king...
I use it ALL the time from putting E-track in commercial trucks and trailers to Corvette body mounts to making fuel cell plates to repairing snowmobile chassis....
get a set of clecos and cleco pliers and you will be king...
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 8,117
Likes: 104
From: charlotte north carolina
stinger12
by backing plate, i mean that i set a 3/16" washer over the rivet on the side opposite of the item being fastened. by doing this, the rivet can not expand when it is compressed and crack the glass, and also the extra diameter of the washer prevents the rivet from pulling thru the glass under stress. according to the manufacture's data, a 3/16 pop rivet will hold "up to 700 pounds"- i find that hard to believe, but if i'm going to put 700 pounds stress on a joint, i'd want to use a 1/2' bolt!
by backing plate, i mean that i set a 3/16" washer over the rivet on the side opposite of the item being fastened. by doing this, the rivet can not expand when it is compressed and crack the glass, and also the extra diameter of the washer prevents the rivet from pulling thru the glass under stress. according to the manufacture's data, a 3/16 pop rivet will hold "up to 700 pounds"- i find that hard to believe, but if i'm going to put 700 pounds stress on a joint, i'd want to use a 1/2' bolt!
