I am in the process of setting up some time to do an inspection on a car in the southeast, and I was told by the seller that this car has this raised rivet issue which tells me that it is an unhit (at least in the front) body. My question to all of you is this. Just were do I look for these bumps? Is it down the middle of the the front end between the headlight doors where the flags emblem is? The seeler said he would point them out once I get to see the car.

I'm beginning to wonder what some of you are seeing. The front end is riveted in 2 places actually. First, there is a re-inforcing strip at the nose directly behind the bumper. It's riveted through the glass with what I call a "smash rivet". You're supposed to see those, but they are hidden behind the bumper. This type of rivet was used all over the car, but most are out of site. If you see a "pop" rivet there, it's been repaired.
The other place rivets were used is the header bar. It runs along the front of the hood opening. With the hood open, you can see it. The way this was attached was with a bonding strip riveted to the header bar and the bonding strip adhered to the surround panel. There are a couple of scenarios in which the rivets may "telegraph" through the surround, I can't say I've ever seen a corrosion problem there, but I do understand the dissimilar metals issue.
I've seen some ameteur jobs where the bonding strip was eliminated and the header bonded directly to the surround panel, sometimes riveted through the surround. It's not a pretty site. I've also seen rivets and screws used in collision repair and left in place then simply either glassed over, or worst case, covered with bondo. These kinds of repairs tend to show themselves very soon after the car is painted.
Back to the header panel, this bonding strip is almost a quarter inch thick and the rivets are recessed into it some. I would think they would have to be corroded pretty bad to push through the surround. Keep in mind they are what is holding the header bar in place. The header bar gives the forward portion of the surround it's shape, it's a reinforcement piece.
I hope this helps, I'd hate to see someone here buy a car that's been misrepresented.

A quick question, I assume that to remove this piece I have to grind each piece of rivet sticking through the metal strip???

Ron

Ruready2go said: A quick question, I assume that to remove this piece I have to grind each piece of rivet sticking through the metal strip??? Ron

I'm assuming you want to remove the strip from underneath. That's going to mean removing everything that's attached to it. Kind of a lengthy process with the body still on the car. Let's see if we can come up with a simpler way to fix this. A few questions;
Is the header bar rusty?
Has the 'glass delaminated anywhere in this area?
Can you e mail or post o good picture of the "bumps" I'd like to see this as closely as possible. If you may have longer term plans to do a total resto, maybe we can come up with a way to repair the problem without a major disassembly.
Any other body people out there want to look at this again too?

Thanks but I thing I got it... Yes the bar is rusty, but the main reason Im taking it off is the rivets/bumps coming through on the glass (on the other side). I do already have engine out, lights out (in process of rebuilding them), so I have very clear look at under side. I acutally just finished cutting the underside rivets off with air hammer and high speed cutter. Now Im getting ready to "ease" off the bar. I hope!... I take some pics and post later tonight..

Thanks!!!

Well just got the metal piece off pretty ease, but bigger question...how do you get the bonding strip off the expose the rivets from underneath???

|UPDATED|10/31/2004 4:24:45 PM (AZT)|/UPDATED|

To separate the strip from the surround, drive a sharp, stiff puty knife or something like a painters tool (5 in 1). Dont use something as stiff as a wood chisel. I've also used a kitchen knife, go very slowly and try not to go through the surround above it. It's very thin and will damage easily. Start at one end, fron and back.
Let us know how it comes off, you will have to prep it before re-installing. There's also a real good chance you'll damage the surround, not the end of the world, but it too will need to be properly repaired.
Let me know how you make out.

after removing the header metal bar by grinding the rivets from underneath---chisel off the bonding strip (after marking the position exactly)---clean the bonding strip of cut alum rivets and glue --- reinstall a new header metal to the bonding strip (use original holes) you will need about 40 large head alum rivets (from dr rebuild or other supplier)--i made a rivet set tool from an old air hammer bit by cutting it off and drilling the end slightly--once you have assembled the header bar-bonding strip --glue it to the surround in the exact location it came from (it locates the headlamps)--i used the same bonding adhesive that holds the fenders together--its a lot of work but its the right way to do it

You may want to remember, the adhesives that were available when our cars were new are not nearly as good as some of the materials out there now.

The Lumina MiniVan uses a steel space frame and has fiberglass panels glued to the frame with an special epoxy adhesive. The stuff is amazing.

Yes I do recommend the rivits, but the newer epoxies will hold just as well, if not better. Why not use both?

There's also a poly urethane out. Most body shop supply houses carry it. It's the kind that mixes in the tube. The guns aren't cheap, I have seen this stuff used to glue a steel panel on a car as opposed to welding. Like Ken says, some of this new stuff is far superior to the old bonding adhesives which weren't much more than glorified bondo.
If you want to go more conventional though, Evercoat makes a decent adhesive.

When putting bonding strip to header bar. Do you just put rivits in place and "smash" end of rivit to mushroom it over to hold the strip in place?