vetter61

What is the best and right way to rivet the grill bracket to a 1967 grille?

VetteRed1965

If you have an airport close by. MOst shops would have air tools and bucking bars. I bet they would help. Most mech are gear heads too

Bill32

Probably the best tool (and least likely to screw things up) would be the C-clamp type tool. However, you'll have to spend some bucks just to do 4 rivets.

I just did 65 body rivets with a buck I made for my air chisel but I think the chisel will be too much for those small rivets even running only 22 psi.

I just got my 4 grill rivets (no spares, ) and believe I'll make my own buck again out of a piece of 1/4 in., round steel. It takes less than 10 minutes to grind the end out concave with a Dremel stone. I'll buck these by hand with a hammer using light taps.

I used a steel body dolly to back up the other end of the rivets on the body and tried a piece of scrap oak for the couple domed head rivets I put in. I'm going to use oak again for these little grill rivets and hit it with a Dremel stone to match the dome head.

The Corvette vendors sell a small rivet setting tool that's usually used for the tubular rivets. That might work, might not.

Bob K

I purchased the "Body Rivet Setting Tool" to install new grill brackets. Worked great. I purchased some rivets to practice. Next will be my spare tire upper lid and v brace.

Bob K.

DansYellow66

It's a good idea to trim any excess length off of the rivets. If to long for the material thickness you are securing, they tend to want to fold over instead of preen and mushroom. If the rivets came with the grill brackets then hopefully they are of appropriate length. For just a few rivets it's pretty easy to use existing tools like a body dolly to back up the rivet head and to make a concave setting tool out of something to preen and mushroom the stem. One of those big brass punches could easily be shaped to work as a setting tool.

KC66

Here is what I use to peen rivets.

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KC66

One More

KC

W64N

Leathercraft companies sell tools for setting soft rivets. For instance, Google Tandy Leather Factory and type "setter" in the search box.

KC66

I used to do leather work. I think those are different. Usually the rivets for leather are two pieces and both ends are flat.

KC