Thread: My 1955 86" rebuild.

Hi
Most body work you could not see standing next to series 1 was not painted by L/R as paint cost money
i.e. under bonnet, guards, tub etc any thing out of sight
cheers
Ian

There are plenty of places to purchase rivets from, I bought these from a ebay UK seller just recently
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps9ed3db1c.jpg
I didn't need the tool it came with the rivets.
This morning I finished off cleaning sanding the underside of the bonnet, grit blasted the areas where Electrolysis had occurred, etch primed the bonnet
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps3f0ebe9b.jpg
I did find that when I was sanding the underside, up under the side edge of the bonnet was painted green (faded) and to me it appeared to be of the same colour green that was on the seatbox floor panels etc, anyway with the vehicle coming up for it's 60th Birthday in 2015, I am going to paint all panels both sides, in an effort to preserve it.
Here is the frame all cleaned up and etch primed on the side that touches the bonnet
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psc27c23bc.jpg

I have borrowed a rivet squeeze from a mate, I will need this tool in the not to distant future, after I have I have taken all the gal/strips etc off the tub, I tried it out on one of the rivets from the UK, I noticed that the tool has left a mark on the rivet, so I will need to make a tool adaptor to suit the rivet heads and not leave any marks/lines in them
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps4626b082.jpg
anyway that was my day, cheers Dennis

the first lot of rivets i found at a swap had gone hard from age & i could not get them to work , even with a ait hammer , so the alum rivets on my galv are held in with speed nuts. I was talking ato a guy at the air force meseum about ot & he said they keep theres in the freezer to stop them going hard. I dont know if it works though. The next lot i bought new & used them staight away on my door tops & used a air hammer that i machined a concave in the hammer & they worked well.

Hi
a hammer, dolly and a rivet tool will bend any al. rivet known to man.
I during a complete rebuild of a 109 Series 1 riveted every rivet in the car, be it body, bonnet, tub, cab, capping and any were else the Wilkes boys put them.
My rivets were up to years old, if a old bugger can do it, dry your eyes, toughen up Princess, learn how to do it right
cheers
Ian

Originally Posted by Dinty

I have borrowed a rivet squeeze from a mate:

How does a rivet squeeze work?

Originally Posted by back_in

Hi
a hammer, dolly and a rivet tool will bend any al. rivet known to man.
I during a complete rebuild of a 109 Series 1 riveted every rivet in the car, be it body, bonnet, tub, cab, capping and any were else the Wilkes boys put them.
My rivets were up to years old, if a old bugger can do it, dry your eyes, toughen up Princess, learn how to do it right
cheers
Ian

These rivets had gone as hard as steel. Using a air hammer & dolley they wouldn't spread .

I have spent the best part of the day stripping the RHS door frame, knocking out the old rivets, many of which had been badly affected by electrolysis
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psa2215496.jpg
I have for the past (almost 40 years) replaced hundreds of rivets, and especially over the past 14 years, I do it as a matter of course, nothing worse than a rivet separating after you have put the final coat of paint on .
The Galvanizing on the door frame on the inside looks good, but I'm going to chase Hunter Valley galv Co through the week and get an idea on what is required etc + costs
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...pse6829d2f.jpg
The door skins as with everything else so far, have multiple coats of paint+++, in fact 5 layers on the outside of the door skin
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps76059377.jpg
it has taken me approx 5 hours to do both sides of the skin
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psc099ec06.jpg
it still has to sanded with my orbital sander (Metabo), the skin did have some minor blemishes (dings) which I think I have successfully removed, no more work on the Series 1 now until Monday after work, as tomorrow I'm going to All British Day Sydney with a mate.
In between times today I ground a 5/16" tool steel to suit the shape of a 3/16" solid alloy rivet, I needed to make one as the tool set in the kit I have on loan is leaving a circular mark on the head
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps4626b082.jpg
A little more fiddling maybe tomorrow evening (late) will have it right, it is reasonably close but not good enough
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps5a05f800.jpg
I have set hundreds of solid rivets mostly aluminium some brass & steel on my 5" gauge 32 'P' class loco, but working with alloy solid rivets on various Land Rover panels I have never struck any that couldn't be worked with an air tool/ hammer and bucking bar, but that's just my experience, anyway that way my day, cheers Dennis
ps rivet squeezers come in all shapes and designs, mostly used in airframes, but has a use on Solhull's finest LOL,,.
https://www.google.com.au/search?q=r...15%3B479%3B365

Hi Dinty
seeing your work brings back a memory or two and the 100's of hours of cleaning and rubbing etc etc, I hope your finished job brings you a lot of satisfaction.
there are many types of riveting, I found doing it by hand was best, more control than using air tools, aluminum suffers from heavy treatment.
cheers
Ian