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Shacksman · 04-05-2009, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Inland RV Center, In

Those rivets are the old "explosive" type.

They have been history for at least 35 years.

They were the "approved" method of sheet metal repairs, back then.

Andy

I had a 58 overlander that had the whole side replaced with those explosive rivets. It was not noticeable from the outside but after removing the interior panels it was obivious that the whole side was replaced. Every one of them were loose and leaking. I wish I had thought of bucking them to tightening them up.

mswartz · 04-05-2009, 04:19 PM

An interesting view of how these work(ed)...

YouTube - Explosive Rivets

Inland RV Center, In · 04-05-2009, 05:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mswartz

An interesting view of how these work(ed)...

Explosive rivets were installed using a 350 to 500 watt soldering iron, that had a tip that matched the brazier head of the rivet.

You had to apply a little pressure in order for the heat to quickly transfer.

That was the cause of loose fitting rivets, since that pressure cause the metal seams to push inward, especially on segments, unless you were very careful.

Andy

mimiandrews · 04-05-2009, 08:56 PM

They don't look like CherryMax to me. That rivet has a bulb on the bottom of the pull stem that fills in the hole in the back side of the rivet when it's pulled. Also, the pull stem is visible on the head of the rivet where it breaks off. I can't see any evidence of a pull stem on the heads in the photos.

Way back there was an "exploding rivet" that was installed in the hole and then heated with a soldering iron to cause the rivet to expand below the sheet metal. I've never seen these installed, but remember seeing ads for them in the aviation publications back in the 60's.