'70 Challenger grille rivets

[Mr Lee]

Restoring my grille is one of the next steps.  Probably gonna take it apart to do so.  Does anyone know about these rivets, like what size they are?  Can I get them at McMaster Carr?   They look like tube rivets / hollow rivets.   https://www.mcmaster.com/rivets
Any tips on how to do it?  I've heard it will be good to have two people to put it back together. 

[Shane Kelley]

Just finished doing a 70 grill. I ordered these rivets in a 50 pack from Amazon in stainless steel. Worked perfect and you can do it all by yourself. Would a extra hand be useful? Yes but not a necessity.

[Mr Lee]

Wow! Grille looks awesome!  Excellent job.  Thanks!  Did you need a special rivet gun too?
Is that the original egg crate? 
What paint did you use on it, if you did indeed paint it. And also what black paint?  Is that SEM trim black?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Shane Kelley]

You need a rivet press (tool) to squeeze the rivets. Everything is original to the grill including the egg crate and emblems. I used wire wheel acid to clean the egg crate and that's it. For the rest I chemical stripped everything with AirCraft stripper and that left the anodizing over the polished areas intact. I then masked everything and sprayed a light coat of black epoxy primer and then applied SEM Hot Rod black over that. Using a gun with hardener for long durability. Here's how it looked before.

[headejm]

That grille would look great on a certain plum crazy Challenger.

P.S. Shane is "the man"! 

[anlauto]

Shane that does look fantastic

[Mr Lee]

Cool, I am gonna pick up some of that wire wheel acid.  Never used it before but looks like it did a great job.  That egg crate is a bitch to clean.
Did you have to do any polishing to the anodized part?  Can the anodized part of the grille be polished without harming it?  Maybe lightly?

[Mr Lee]

Sorry, one more question (should have labeled this thread "grille restoration" cause it is bringing up all kinds of questions now)...
Did you use the wire wheel acid full strength or diluted? 

[Shane Kelley]

Try 1/2 and 1/2 first.  Start with a small corner to test what it's going to do. Use something like a Q tip in one of the squares and that will help you test time and strength needed.

With the grill completely dry and out of direct sun light spray it down thoroughly and give it about 30 seconds and spray with garden hose. Dry it off and see how it looks. Varying how that looks you can try and let it set a little longer if needed or strengthen the dose. Just don't walk away and forget about it.

[Dakota]

You need a rivet press (tool) to squeeze the rivets.

Could you please post a picture of what this tool looks like?   I found a couple via Google that are Becht mounted, but I'm not sure if that's what is needed here. 

[Shane Kelley]

This is the one I use and here is the link to their site. I bought this tool for doing ashtrays.

https://www.hansonrivet.com/tools-machines/tubular-rivet-tools-machines/hand-rivet-squeezers/

[Mr Lee]

Wondering if an air hammer might work to set those rivets... if you're very careful with it of course and turn the air pressure down a bit.       If you could make (or buy) a die for it that fits into the hollow end of the rivet, then just buzz it right in with a little dolly on the other side.    Ive used an air hammer to remove wheels studs and they came out like butter.   Mushrooming a little rivet head shouldn't be too hard.  Maybe.  I dunno.    Thinkin out loud here for a way to avoid spending $110 on a rivet tool.    

[Dakota]

This is the one I use and here is the link to their site.

Thanks for the info Shane.   I'll have to take a closer look at my grill after I get all the other stuff back on the car.

[worthywads]

Wondering if an air hammer might work to set those rivets... if you're very careful with it of course and turn the air pressure down a bit.       If you could make (or buy) a die for it that fits into the hollow end of the rivet, then just buzz it right in with a little dolly on the other side.    Ive used an air hammer to remove wheels studs and they came out like butter.   Mushrooming a little rivet head shouldn't be too hard.  Maybe.  I dunno.    Thinkin out loud here for a way to avoid spending $110 on a rivet tool.   

I ended up using regular rivets when I replaced my center last year, couldn't justify the rivet tool.  I'm happy with the results, it's not noticeable unless you're really looking for it.

[GoMangoBoys]

@Shane Kelley  Did you use that rivet squeezer on a grill re-assembly?  I am curious if the model that you show has the right reach for all the grill rivets.  I confess that I have not looked at it closely yet myself to know if it will work.  Also, do you have to buy separate dies for the rivets we will use on the grill, or does it come with a set?
Thanks