FJ40 Fiberglass rivet tool

[SouthBostonFJ40]

I did not use a washer with the CCOT rivets....

So you just mushroom the rivet against the fiberglass?

Its another mating surface to try to seal.

If you are sealing the whole gutter so that the rivet tops and washers are covered why would it matter?

 

[cumminscruiser]

rivet tool

I put the head of the rivet aginst the fiberglass and the formed part of the rivet was done aginst the metal drip rail. The rivet aginst the drip rail was formed by the tool.

I have found especially in a marine envionment that whenever two mating metal surfaces touch that corrosion will form.

It's not a big huge deal but as you know those roofs are just waiting to leak and those rain gutters rust if you just look at them the wrong way.

 

[SouthBostonFJ40]

So, you are doing the reverse of factory and the picture above?

 

[cumminscruiser]

Rivet tool

Good question, I may have done it opposite from the factory, I did not look close when I removed the rivets, but the top was in bad shape. I cant tell which end was swaged from the factory.

On mine it seemed logical to put the large diameter head next to the fiberglass and do the swaging at the rain gutter becouse its metal. Mine looks nice next to the metal raingutter becouse of the tool.

If you attempt to do the swaging at the fiberglass it seems to me that you could break the fiberglass.

 

[SouthBostonFJ40]

I ordered 2,500 rivets and washers to sell with my raingutter kits. I hope that using the washer will eliminate the chance of breaking the fiberglass.

 

[cumminscruiser]

rivet tool

Yep the washer should help, you should tyr out using a air hammer to drive the rivets, I cant imagion pounding all of those by hand. I have two more roofs to do one is not in too bad shape but the other will need some metal, how much is the kit? and do you sell pieces?

 

[LakeNorman_FJ40]

If you use the CCOT rivets, I'd do it the way Cumminscruiser did it too (large rivet head against fiberglass and mushroom the bottom). The pic above looks good.

If you use the McMaster rivets I used, then I'd do the reverse with a washer against the fiberglass and mushroom the rivet shaft/shank against the washer). I'll try and get a pic of the rivets I used installed. The look is very uniform. It takes longer, but then I didn't have to buy the expensive rivet tools so the extra time was the trade-off.

 

[SouthBostonFJ40]

If you use the CCOT rivets, I'd do it the way Cumminscruiser did it too (large rivet head against fiberglass and mushroom the bottom). The pic above looks good.

If you use the McMaster rivets I used, then I'd do the reverse with a washer against the fiberglass and mushroom the rivet shaft/shank against the washer). I'll try and get a pic of the rivets I used installed. The look is very uniform. It takes longer, but then I didn't have to buy the expensive rivet tools so the extra time was the trade-off.

Did you ever get a picture of the rivets?

 

[D'Animal]

Has anybody taken pics of the top AND bottom of their rivets yet?

I am ready to put the fiberglass back on the halo and looking for suggestions.

 

[cumminscruiser]

Rivits

I have in this posting both the top and bottom of the rivits shown the top is the aluminun color and the bottom is painted white. Both came out rounded,

 

[D'Animal]

Have you noticed any cracking around the large rivet heads on the fiberglass.

They look Huge but that may be because you took the time to get a detailed close up picture.

 

[cumminscruiser]

Rivet tool

No cracking, the top of the rivet (aginst the fiberglass) is the "stock" head (sold by CCOT), the bottom is formed by the tool and is aginst the metal drip rail. This is done by the air hammer with tool.

By the way I have made a few of these tools $40.00 plus shipping. Includes two tools one for forming the rivet the other goes in the air hammer and is coped for the rivet. The rivets are $7.00 from CCOT.

 

[Flatlandr]

Since I'm getting a lot of IMs about how I did it, I'll capture it here again but I think I posted it somewhere else too. Don't get in a hurry as this process took me several weekends (b/c of time needed for paint, seam sealer, adhesive, etc. to cure)

Here is what I did, step by step and you don't need any fancy expensive tools for the job...but you do need to purchase a couple of special inexpensive tools to make the job much easier.

Rivet setting tool:
C.S. Osborne Model Rivet Setter(USA)

Rivets (1/8" x 3/8" flat head):
McMaster-Carr

Also get a bunch (100+) of round 1/8" rivet washers in aluminum to use with these rivets (can get at any hardware store).

Other Materials:
- 3M Seam Sealer (2 tubes from Cool Cruisers of Texas)
- Sikaflex (1 tube of white, waterproof, and long cure set/up type formula)
- Optional: body filler, fiberglass repair kit, 3M Heavy Duty Repair Filler (all this depends on the condition of your fiberglass roof cap)

Tools:
- sledge hammer
- flat steel plate or marble/cement (to use to brace the rivets when you strike them with hammer)
- "clecos" (at least 30+...I used many more...get the 1/8" size)
- cleco pliers
Picture of Cleco Pliers and Clecos

Separate the fiberglass cap from the rain gutter by shearing or sanding the rivet heads off the underside of the drip rail. If the winshield header is loose, now is the time to remove it. Clean out all of the old seam sealer from the drip rail and sand or media blast the drip rail and the winshield header. Remove headliner from underside of roof cap and lightly sand old headliner glue from roof cap.

Replace any welded nuts that have stripped threads or rusted away (can either tack weld new nuts or drill out old nut and simply place a new nut on top of the old one). Repair any rusted sections of the drip rail metal.

Paint drip rail with good rust preventative paint like POR-15 or Rust Bullet. Try not to paint down inside the welded nuts on the drip rail or else you will have to clean the threads with a proper size tap. Also paint the winshield header with rust preventative paint.

The fiberglass top should be checked for holes or cracks and repaired with appropriate fiberglass repair materials. Especially look at the holes that attach the roof cap to the drip rail and repair as necessary (3M High Strength Repair Filler is excellent for this as it dries ultra hard and strong). Light skim coats of body filler can be used for deep scratches on either side of the roof cap. Do not paint roof cap yet!

To re-attach roof cap to rain gutter, place rain gutter and fiberglass roof cap on smooth garage floor (unless you have a huge heavy duty table or countertop). Place a bead of Sikaflex (marine adhesive...get the waterproof one with a longer cure time) around the perimeter of the roof cap and set roof cap inside of drip rail. Use a bunch of "clecos" to secure the roof cap to drip rail or a bunch of other type of "C" clamps to pull the roofcap and gutter together while the Sikaflex cures. If you are not using clecos, clean out the rivet holes to minimize the amount of adhesive that dries in the rivet holes. Let Sikaflex completely cure for a few days and then clean out each and every rivet hole with a 1/8" drill bit.

To install rivets, insert the rivet up from the bottom / underside the rain gutter and through the fiberglass top, place aluminum 1/8" washer on rivet shaft letting the washer lay in the rain gutter area. Brace the rivet from the underside of the rain gutter with a thick piece of steel or other very hard block of marble/granite/cement. Place rivet tool on top side of rivet and strike with a sledge hammer until the rivet shaft flattens and secures itself against the washer. Be careful and don't strike the rivet too many times after it flattens against the washer...don't break the fiberglass! Repeat this process all the way around the perimeter of the top.

Once all rivets are set use 3M Seam Sealer (the stuff that Cool Cruisers of Texas sells...you will need 2 tubes). Smooth the seam sealer with your finger to re-shape the rain gutter area. Each rivet/washer combo should now be invisible and covered with seam sealer. Let the seam sealer dry for a few days and lightly sand it smooth.

Reattach winshield header if removed earlier...again using Sikaflex and clecos to clamp to hardtop. Make sure you get the angle of the winshield header correct or you won't be able to properly bolt the header to the winshield. I'd recommend placing the roof cap / drip rail combo back on the truck and bolt in place to get the angle on the header exactly right. To secure the header panel, I tried using rivets, but was unsuccessful in attaching them b/c of the location of the mounting points, so I used very short rounded stainless button head bolts with a slightly larger diameter stainless washer on the topside and another stainless washer with flat nylock nut on the underside (use some seam sealer to avoid leaks around the bolts/washer area).

You have successfully restored the drip rail & roof cap! Now you are ready to paint the entire roof cap / drip rail (Cygnus White please!!!).

Hope this helps!

Well, THAT was easy!

 

[roma042987]

Rivet tool I made, about half way down the page
Tucker and Roma's 75 FJ40 Restore

 

[FJ40Mitchell]

To those of you who used the rivets from Cool Cruisers, what tool did you use to set the rivets? Besides the air hammer. Looking for a cheaper solution than that. I'm looking at the C S Osborne rivet setters that @LakeNorman_FJ40 recommended, but there are lots of different sizes and Cool Cruisers gives no specification about what size rivets they are. Thanks for any help.

 

[Ian Macdonald]

This whole thread makes me weep. I have'nt found a hard top yet - or the cash to pay for one if I did! Ah well

 

[FJ40Mitchell]

Alright so here was my solution, using the regular aluminum 1/8" rivets from McMaster-Carr (decided the Cool Cruisers rivets just seemed too big). I ended up creating my own rivet setter of sorts with a piece of rebar by grinding the end flat and then drilling a slight indentation that I used to round the heads after flattening them with a ball peen hammer. Did the same thing to a longer piece of rebar which went under the top to support the rivet from the bottom. The CS Osborne rivet setter doesn't seem to be made for this type of rivets, but I may have just not been understanding how to use it properly. Regardless, this is a more low-cost solution and works quite well. Painted it today and it looks OEM again.

 

[Splangy]

A pair of vice grips with a dimpled die welded to one side and a flat die welded to the other works grea for aluminum Rivets. The dimpled (rounded) side should be on top.

 

[bikersmurf]

Alright so here was my solution, using the regular aluminum 1/8" rivets from McMaster-Carr (decided the Cool Cruisers rivets just seemed too big). I ended up creating my own rivet setter of sorts with a piece of rebar by grinding the end flat and then drilling a slight indentation that I used to round the heads after flattening them with a ball peen hammer. Did the same thing to a longer piece of rebar which went under the top to support the rivet from the bottom. The CS Osborne rivet setter doesn't seem to be made for this type of rivets, but I may have just not been understanding how to use it properly. Regardless, this is a more low-cost solution and works quite well. Painted it today and it looks OEM again.
View attachment 1265713 View attachment 1265714

The tool I'm familiar with for the job is called a 'Domer'... it usually comes as a set with a 'Fetcher'. You're on the right track with the dimple in the end of the rebar. To get a rounder hole, drill a similar hole in a chunk of bar stock, drop a 1/4" ball bearing in it, heat the rod (rebar) till it's red hot, and then hammer the bearing into the hole. If it works correctly you'll end up with a rounded dimple in the end of your tool. Afterwards, temper the metal to help it last longer... not likely necessary with aluminum rivets.

 

[shipmag]

Temper with oil not water other wise it will be too brittle. Some old motor oil will work fine.