1969 Camaro rear bumper center bracket/rivets

[69VN]

Has anyone ever restored an original rear bumper and had to properly remove the center bracket which is factory riveted to the bumper? How do I remove these rivets so that I don't damage them? I plan to reuse them after the chrome shop does their part. Any help in this matter is greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
SAL <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/hmmm.gif

[Lynn]

Pretty sure you will have to source some replacement rivets.

If there is an alternative, I would like to hear it.

[SS427]

The rivets are readily available aftermarket. Don't remember where I got them for the recent 69 Camaro restoration but will check if no one else chimes in. I believe it was Classic Industries.

[Unreal]

I made some by grinding the head of a metric bolt (larger head vs. shank diameter to match the head of the original rivet. Then just bolted it up. You would have to be a contortionist to see that it's not a rivet.

[x77-69z28]

Sal, I got them from heartbeat city. You wouldn't believe how hard you gotta squeeze those things! You can search on his homepage. Just did it, part # EXT 1064 $12.95 for the pair.

[69VN]

Thanks guys, You won't believe this but it came to me that if you heat ( maybe with an acetylene torch) up the original rivets and get them cherry red, there might be a chance they could be tapped out with a hammer. The heat might make the rivets shrink. maybe they can be pulled out by a pair of pliers.

Hey Buddy, I saw the ones you mentioned at Heartbeatcity. They don't seem to have that pointed end on them but maybe they'll just have to do.

[KevinW]

The rivets are not really in there that tight. Just use a small Dremel cut off wheel or die grinder on the back and you can punch them out with a cold punch. Then go down to you local hardware store/Lowes/HD and pick up some correctly sized stainless carriage bolts. Put the bolts into your drill press and contour the head to match the rivet with a 4&quot; grinder while it is spinning. Then press the bolt head into some wet sandpaper while spining to get a good swirl mark. Then install into bumper and bracket with a nylon lock nut. You may need grind the bolts inside square nubs a bit to get them into the bumper hole. I used a needle nosed vise grip to keep the bolt from spinning while getting the nut on. Once installed, very hard to tell and it wont rust <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/smile.gif

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[69VN]

Thanks Kevin. That sounds like a great idea! <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif I will definitely look into doing that. Nice job.

SAL <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/headbang.gif