Thread: My 1955 86" Restoration Project

G'Day,

well i've been a busy lad trying to keep my job and balancing work on the 55'
as its almost complete. I bled the brakes last weekend and all went well.
Today my Radiator was ready to pick up i had a custom brass/ copper 4 core
made by Aussie Desert Cooler, and will install it over the long weekend. ill attach pics of that installation next week.

I had some 6mm rubber left over when i made mud flaps for my rangie. So i cut up 2 pieces and made up the bonnett buffers for the spare tyre.i used Loctite 5min epoxy glue to join the 2 pieces and once set i cleaned up these pieces on the linisher.







finished product



I also cleaned up / re painted the drawbar and installed it on the rear crossmember along with the pintle hook (is that what you call it?)
Thanks to Bob.S, i bought these items from him at the swapmeet in Cooma last year!

Couple of questions regarding rivets.
How did you get the old ones out cleanly?
How did you put the new blind rivets in and where did you track them down?
cheers
Mick

Originally Posted by Mick-Kelly

Couple of questions regarding rivets.
How did you get the old ones out cleanly?
How did you put the new blind rivets in and where did you track them down?
cheers
Mick

hi Mick.

To get the old rivets out i used a centre punch on the solid head of the rivet, then used a 4mm drill bit and drilled through the top of the head untill it snapped off. Then used a hammer & punch to get the remainding piece out.

Another way of removing rivets, i used my die grinder with a 2" abrasive disc attachment very coarse and ground the head off untill it was flat and then punched it out. i used this mainly because i found it easier to do as i wasnt worried if i knocked a bit of the Galv off as i was intending to re galv everything.

the new rivets i put in using an attachment in my air hammer and a bucking bar on the head of the rivet to keep its shape.

i purchased all my rivets and tooling from Big Flat Rivets Co. in USA.
Big Flats Rivet Co. - Authentic rivets for vintage cars.
i sent them an origional rivet and they matched one close enough.

also practice heaps on a scrap piece of alluminum sheet as it took me a while to set up the correct air pressure and get the hang of how to install solid rivets as it was the first time for me.

Thanks
That sums it up well, i will have to explore this path with the 80 inch. Nice work on the rubber blocks BTW they look excellent. Whole vehcle looks excellent. Very good job.

Hi All
the easy way of removing rivets is
a sharp wood chisel and a good hammer
2 hits, the top is gone, a 1/8 punch and the rest is gone
TFE
cheers
Ian

i tried a hammer and chisel today its works quite well, thanks Chris.

That big flat rivet place in the USA require a minimum order of 1000 rivets or something like that ..that's what they told me anyway .
Mike

oh ok, maybe you can do an order and split it with another person. 1000 rivets i think you could do 2-3 Land Rovers, easily!