Holes/Rivets Question

[sofresh]

Hi guys, sorry in advance for the noob questions. I have been tons of research and can't seem to figure this out. Some of the manual wording sounds like the holes in all the aluminum panels need to be drilled.

So my question: Do the aluminum panels all come pre-drilled and you install the rivets? or, do you have to drill out all the holes yourself then install the rivets?

Just trying to figure out if I should upgrade my drill accessories in advance... lol

[michael everson]

You need to drill all the holes yourself. # 30 drill works best. A nice high end cordless drill will serve you well.
Mike

[sofresh]

You need to drill all the holes yourself. # 30 drill works best. A nice high end cordless drill will serve you well.
Mike

Thank you sir :)

[SStrong]

The kit comes with an aluminum jig to space the holes. You will be drilling for LOTS of rivets. A powered rivet gun is a good investment, with the hand rivet tool for tight spaces. I've been doing mine with a hand riveter. Most of the panels are screwed in temporarily. You will remove them (take pictures and mark their location with a marker, and make note of which way the overlap is placed before removing). Clekos and a Cleko tool come in handy for holding panels in place while drilling for rivets. You need about 25 1/8 Clekos. You'll need several tubes of silicone to seal the panel seams. Don't put the panels in until you have to. Check into mounting the seat belt bolts through the floor pans, and you'll see what I mean (you're supposed to drill and bolt through the panels).

[sofresh]

The kit comes with an aluminum jig to space the holes. You will be drilling for LOTS of rivets. A powered rivet gun is a good investment, with the hand rivet tool for tight spaces. I've been doing mine with a hand riveter. Most of the panels are screwed in temporarily. You will remove them (take pictures and mark their location with a marker, and make note of which way the overlap is placed before removing). Clekos and a Cleko tool come in handy for holding panels in place while drilling for rivets. You need about 25 1/8 Clekos. You'll need several tubes of silicone to seal the panel seams. Don't put the panels in until you have to. Check into mounting the seat belt bolts through the floor pans, and you'll see what I mean (you're supposed to drill and bolt through the panels).

Great information! I've been looking into the Cleco pin kit and tool from Summit Racing: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-G1850/

Also since you said have about 25 Clecos on hand, I'll order another set of just cleco pins. Are the cleco pins reusable? I'm assuming they are... never used a Cleco tool before.

[jlfernan]

For clecos and pliers, you may do better here: http://www.averytools.com/products.asp?dept=9
They have more variety and better prices. You will only need a handfull of the 3/16" clecos and I would say the more the merrier when it comes to 1/8".




http://img851.imageshack.us/img851/9124/jorge.jpg (http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/private.php?do=newpm&u=111)

[jakester888]

I just finished by passenger side footbox this weekend (rivets anyway). Here's what it looks like, also showing the cleko tool and hand rivet tool in this photo.

10231

[JeepFlyer]

I was going to suggest aircraftspruce.com for clecos because they were only $0.46 /each and you got a 15% discount with orders of 100 pieces or more (split them between 2 or 3 guys). I went back and double-checked, and they are now $0.63 /each. Supply and demand I guess.

[MPTech]

Mark the panels as they come from FFR, indicating what panel/flap overlaps what and take pictures.
Also mark where the braces are on the panels.
Then I took the panels off, measured and laid out where the holes go and drilled the panels with a bench-top drill press (if you don't have a drill press, they are worth their wait in gold!)
Then put it back on the car, or undrilled panel and drill one hole with the drill (I prefer corded for lots of holes and into the frame members), put a Cleco in it to hold it in place and drill another hole 2 or 4 away and another cleco.
Sometimes it's helpful to get some big spring clamps to hold the panels in place too.

[Someday I Suppose]

Good advice from everyone, drilling is just part of the fun. Do the cars really come with a rivit spacer tool now??? I feel special that I had to use a ruler :-)

I didn't see it mentioned yet, but an pnumatic rivit gun is a pretty nice thing to have as well. I started with the I'm going to pull all rivits by hand until I saw a used Harbor Freight gun come up on the forum and I jumped on it. It really does make life so much easier.

One last thing to mention, don't rivit in the back cockpit wall until you have the trunk floor in place. You won't be able to get a drill and rivits into the 2X4 that runs across the car at the cockpit wall.

-Scott

[azbruin]

I suggest reading ahead in the manual - there are a number of items that aren't mentioned at all or are discussed long after. Notably, the rear body/quickjack bolts need to be put in before the gas tank, at least on a donor tank, and they aren't mentioned until about a 100 pages after it's too late.

[JeepFlyer]

Do the cars really come with a rivit spacer tool now??? I feel special that I had to use a ruler :-)

I think they were talking about the rivet spacer that is just a sheet of aluminum with holes drilled in it. From what I remember they are 3/8" from the edges so you can line up the spacer with the edge of the 3/4" tubing and drill directly in the center of it. I doubt FFR is throwing in a $50+ type fan spacer for everyone now. I'm planning to use a ruler, fine tip sharpie, and math to do all of my rivet spacing.

I did talk to a former professor who teaches aircraft materials classes. I asked if it would be worth it to use a reamer to clean up the holes after drilling. He said it wasn't needed unless the holes are in a high stress area. Stress fractures tend to start at the jagged imperfections around holes left by a normal drill bit. I might get one anyway to clean up the holes after powdercoating.

[AZPete]

Maybe I'm anal but I wanted my rivets spaced proportionately about 2" apart. If you measure each 2 inches from the start point the last two rivets in the line will likely be to close or too far apart. I saw this idea on a forum and it worked perfectly. Cut the elastic from an old (clean!) pair of your jockeys. Cut the label off and then mark it with a Sharpie every 2 (or 3) inches. Place the first mark on your panel where the first rivet will be, clamp it in place and then lay it along the rivet line. Stretch it slightly so a mark is where the last rivet will be. Now, each mark on the elastic will be equally spaced from the first to the last rivet. Mark the panel, dent each location with a spring-loaded punch and drill the holes.

Next, of course, clamp the panel in place on the frame, drill through the two end holes of the panel into the frame, Cleco those holes and continue drilling through the panel holes into the frame. Remove the panel to clean up all metal bits, add sealer and then rivet in place.