ALEVS7 Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Got car in for MOT yesterday, car passed ok but chap pointed out that floor panel under drivers seat has ripped through about 8 rivets on corner rear centre of seat, dropping My bottom about 5mm closer to the road!! It looks easy enough to replace the rivets, and I can hopefully get use of a pit to do so, question is what size are these rivets? and is it worth putting some kind of glue,e poxy etc? before putting in new rivets. Has this happened to anyone elses car? Im now off to work out diet plan so it doesn't happen again!! Al Evs. The Ultimate driving machine isn't German!!!....here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart McGill Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Has it got a lowered floor? I guess it has and you have grounded the rivet heads off? Mien was in for an MOT on Saturday too and I jumped in the pit and saw some nice scrapes along the front of the lowered floor 🙆🏻 Not damage though, just battle/ blat scars! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Support Team Shaun_E Posted June 23, 2009 Support Team Share Posted June 23, 2009 This seems fairly common - I had the same situation recently. Rivets are 5/32" and it is best to use steel rivets (which are hard work in a hand riveter). Yellow SL #32 - member of Drowned Rat Racing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan7 Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Don't panic Al, it's fairly common. Might be worth using something like Tigerseal as well as the rivets. No Fish & Chips for you on Saturday - salads only How do you get the dead flies off your teeth....... 😬 R5AAH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irrelevant Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 Has it got a lowered floor? I guess it has and you have grounded the rivet heads off? Eh How can you grind rivets off without first grinding the lowered floor itself off Various remedies . . .either replace as per standard. Replace with 5mm ally rivets. Or use steel/stainless rivets (though these are not good wrt galvanic corrosion). I use 5mm stainless rivets on mine - though in hindsight, I'd have used 5mm wide flanged ally rivets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickrick Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 If you know a rigger, or good chandler, try monel rivets. (Nickel copper alloy.) Good for resisting corrosion. For example here Edited by - Mickrick on 24 Jun 2009 18:17:19 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 EVS777 Yes I had been trying to sort out what I thought was a suspension problem, gave up put it in for the due MOT thinking they might spot the problem. They did and failed it, drove home replaced them and had an MOT less than an hour later I now check them but they have been OK since then.........that was err 15 years ago 🤔 As to using steel ones well the original ally most likely fail from salt and the contact with steel frame. However, if you use steel the floor panel rather than the pop rivet might fail or they will be a real pig to drill out I just used some longer ones a bit thicker in diameter that I had in my garage ❗ 'Can you hear me running' ......... OH YES and its music to my ears 😬 😬 😬 1988 200 bhp, 146 ft lbs, 1700cc Cosworth BD? engineered by Roger King, on Weber's with Brooklands and Clamshell wings, Freestyle Motorsport suspension. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickrick Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 See my above post. Monel rivets are used on ally sailboat masts, to fit stainless steel fittings. You don't get much more corrosive than a stainless fitting on ally, at sea! They are strong too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 Thats a very good point Mickrick as far as salt From a galvanic effect of the contact of dissimilar metals SS is more noble but ally much less nobel but but the Ally is the greater mass so the fixings ok but less so the Ally however it has a greater mass so the effects less Best would be a rubber coated rivit. 'Can you hear me running' ......... OH YES and its music to my ears 😬 😬 😬 1988 200 bhp, 146 ft lbs, 1700cc Cosworth BD? engineered by Roger King, on Weber's with Brooklands and Clamshell wings, Freestyle Motorsport suspension. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickrick Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 This is very good stuff here You can put this stuff on some monel rivets. You shouldn't really get a problem with galvanic corrosion on a car, as they're rarely imersed in sailine. Once the rain comes, the salt gets washed off anyway. It's usually just plain old oxidisation. 3M make a very good panel cualking, which comes in strips like plastercine. It's very soft, and doesn't go hard. Put it betrween the ally and steel chassis tubes, rivet together, and pull off the excess when it squishes out. You can roll the excess into strips and re-use it. And you don't get covered in the stuff like tigerseal or sikaflex. I've got some of the 3M stuff on my boat. I've been using it for bedding mast fittings on my wooden mast. I can pop down and get the number, over the weekend if you wish? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALEVS7 Posted June 25, 2009 Author Share Posted June 25, 2009 Hi Guys, Thanks for all comments, getting car up on ramp today , so should sort it out today, then maybe give a little referb during the winter! Alan H thanks for the diet comment!!! must have been all the food and drink on holiday in Cornwall last week!! Rattler cider..................headache!!! Al Evs. The Ultimate driving machine isn't German!!!....here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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