Looking at the rotor I am used to seeing a safty screw holding on the rotor. but what I see appears more to be 5 flattened/smashed/spread out stud heads holding on the rotors. do you tap the sides in to remove the rotor and if so are they needing to be flattened again once the new rotors are on?

mark v

You will need to drill those rivets out to remove the rotors. The only way to replace the rivets is spindle removal. Most people won't bother replacing them, just remove them completely.

Wow, you still got the original rotors installed .
How many miles does your car have ?
Yes, don't bother reinstalling the rivets. The wheel lug bolts will hold all together. The rivets where installed for the asembly line ease up installation and because the discs got trued after installation.
When installing the new discs, measure the runout.

Good luck. Gunther

"When installing the new discs, measure the runout."

This is very important. Make sure you clean up all the rust/scale off the hubs and bolt the new rotors on using spacers. Spine the rotors and check with a indicator. If you see more than 0.005" runout you will need to sand any high spots on the hub. If you don't do this you could start having brake problems later.
Its not as scary as it sounds.
Good Luck