I have reconditioned my upper and lower A-arms, thanks to a lot of help from this board. I would now like to rivet my ball joints on. Is this something that I should send out or can I do it at home? I would also like to rivet the brace onto the spare tire tray. Where can I get the tool to do these jobs?
-
-
Re: C2 Riveting
I have extensive experience with the riveting of the ball joints.
I purchased the riveting tool and the rivets from Long Island Corvette. That was the easy part. After receiving the parts, I tried to rivet the parts into place manually, but could not do it. I send the control arms to Long Island Corvette, they offer the riveting service. When I got them back, I could not believe, the poor workmanship, that they did. The rivets were hardly rounded,the ball joints loose, etc. I then send them to Paragon, with similar results, but a little bit better.
I got an air driven riveting hammer tool, used the tool from LIC and finished rounding the rivets. They now look OK, but not concours.
I contacted LIC about the poor workmanship, but was treated extreamly badly. The owner was very rude, told me to send the arms back, he will unrivet them and give me my money back. Shipping charge to and from would have set me back another 60.00 . He hung up on me. I contacted Master Charge, they will refund my money and dock LIC. What a jerk the owner was. I would have never expected him to say the things he said.(He is off my Vendor list, but still use Paragon)
Anyway, do not use LIC or Paragon.They dont know how to do it correctly. I can send you Digital photos of the results.
There must be another Vendor, who can do a good job.
Rainer -
Re: C2 Riveting
Look no further than Art at Van Steele. His workmanship is unbelievable. He did the upper and lowers for $52.00 and furnished the rivets. You won't get treated shabby at VS and Art is one of the nicest guys you could ever meet or talk to.
BLComment
-
Re: C2 Riveting
Take Brian's advice. Even if you buy an pneumatic rivet gun, which works fine on the aluminum rivets used throughout the car, the rivets are hard steel, and unless you already have a jig or something made, it's almost impossible to get good results. The experience you had with paragon and long island is an example of how frustrating it is to restore an entire car to original specs. I had many similar experiences of poor work being done during my restoration, which I had to have redone correctly. I learned that before you have someone do specific work like this, ask to see an example of their work. If they don't have a brochure or flyer, they can always email you a photo of the results of their work. If they aren't willing to show you what yours will look like, there's usually a reason. It's frustrating when you have the correct rivets, only to have someone screw it up. I had the same thing happen when I had my rotors riveted to the hubs. I had to drill them out, buy rivets a second time and have them done over correctly.Comment
-
Re: C2 Riveting
Does anyone have an address or contact info for Van Steele?Comment
-
Re: C2 Riveting
Rob You are correct that the rivets are hard to install. I made special heavy duty back up fixtures and now can do the job faster than it would take to package and ship them. LyleLyle
Comment
-
Re: C2 Riveting Bairs
Bairs did mine and did a excellent job. Depending where your located may be a option. MikeComment
-
Re: Van Steel
Keith,
Here is the contact information for Van Steel. Phone: 1-800-418-5397. Website: www.vansteel.com. They are located in Clearwater, FL.
GeneComment
-
Re: C2 Riveting
Rainer - see the other posts on Van Steel and Bairs, both give great results. I have heard of issues with LIC per your post, they sound like some of the attitude I received recently checking out cameras at NYC online photo shops. Lure you in with a low price, then try to load you up with accessories you don't need/want, and then get rude and hang up when you don't buy. My advice: run! Go pay a litte more from a reputable and known supplier...CraigComment
Comment