my old front rotors didn't have the rivets in them.I got another set of front hubs and want to romove the rotors.they are riveted on.How do you cut off the rivets?

 

I used a chisel and a BFH, popped the heads right off, then used a punch to push them out. Will have to resharpen the chisel as you go.

 

Most people drill them out. Let me ask, why do you want to separate the rotor from the hub anyway?

 

Good one Mike! I had the same question. My '69 has ~137,000 miles on the original rotors that have never been seperated from the hubs. I have none of the problems I read about here about pumping air into the calipers because of rotors with too much lateral runout. If it ain't borke, dont' fix it!

 

worn rotors,very thin,miles......unknown.

 

They hard to drill out (ie. drill bit go thru easy/hard)? Just seems like that would take a whole lot longer than a chisel and hammer.

 

I drilled mine out starting with a smaller bit and them moving to a 1/2 inch bit.. I used cobalt bits and they cut the rivets like butter.
After the heads were drilled out I used an air chisel with a pointed bit to push them out.
Took about 10 - 15 minutes per rotor tops..
The rivet heads were recessed in the rotor on mine, so I dont see how a hammer and chisel would work.

 

So, you're all set to deal with correcting the runout on the new rotors?

 

haha run out.I'm changing the bearings ball joints bushings all linkage.Should I rebuild the entire chassis and not change the thin worn rotors?

 

I agree. Drilling was relatively easy with cobalt bits.

 

I'd never removed Corvette rotors from their hubs before doing mine. Before starting disassembly, I measured the existing runout. Drivers was .003 and pass was .002. Removed from the spindles, removed and cataloged bearings, and cleaned hubs of excess grease.

I used the drill bits I had on hand (not cobalt) and after center-punching each head, I did a so-so job of keeping the bit centered on the first rivet head. The bit was slightly used and was subjectively, sharp.

This resulted in two things: being slightly off-center caused extra hub material to be taken and also went as much as 1/8" to 1/4" inch too deep into the hub flange (I know: shoulda used a stop to avoid that part). That was on the first 2 of 5 rivet heads of first assembly.

I was not pleased with my effort so took another tack. With the heads sitting in countersunk holes, the ole chisel and hammer method didn't appear so easy. Not intending to replace a ruined hub, I chose instead to grab my trusty Dremel with a carbide cutting disc.

Flipping the hub rotor face down, I carefully cut off the peened-over (rear) part of the rivet flush with the back of the flange. Used caution not to get too close to the hub center to avoid knocking the hub balancing out of whack by grinding away material.

Grabbed the BFH and center punched the rivet out; that ended up working for me and stopped buggering up the hub's flange..

Upon reassembly, I couldn't get the drivers side any closer than .005 out-of-alignment with the new rotor but the pass side came in at .003. I believe either measurement is within spec.

Just sayin' there's always options to some of the problems we encounter and mine turned out fine.

Good Luck.