Kick panel vent door rivets

[Gyrine]

I am preparing to restore the kick panel vent doors on my 1970 Chevy CST/20.

Looking for a source for original type rivets that sandwich the two metal parts on the foam.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Rob

[Gyrine]

Ok…will figure this out on my own.

[roboticjunky]

A lot of people use regular pop rivets, but since you're looking for the original style. Trying looking for Semi Tubular Rivets.

[cericd]

Here's a thread that seems to have some good information about the fastener options that can be used. https://www.67-72chevytrucks.com/vbo...d.php?t=656240

[Gyrine]

Thanks for the replies. I did a search for vent door rivets. The post you provided did not come up. It is informative.

I rebuilt the vent doors on my 1967 Camaro about 10 years ago. Same process. Can't find where I got the rivets. I even bought a special tool that made the rivet install very easy. Through trial and error I ended up with the correct type of foam. Still have enough foam to repair the vent doors on both my truck and Blazer.

Will let you know how it turms out.

[cericd]

I haven't inspected my vent doors but I totally understand wanting the correct rivets. I'm not a fan of the look of pop rivets myself. I'm not sure what type of tool you bought but I found this one on ebay when trying to find rivets to restore some other riveted projects. Seems the style of rivet is called "semi-tubular". They appear to be the same style as the ones used to hold our ashtray faces onto the tray. I'm not sure of the correct size. Hope this helps. https://www.ebay.com/itm/28439301546...Bk9SR_jii8TUYQ

Btw, I know most people will balk at the price of the tool. I know it's available from other sources, possibly at a better price. In any case, it's posted for reference.

I also noticed some people using nuts and bolts to reassemble the vent doors. Something like this would give a more finished look than a standard bolt head. Once again, Not sure of the correct size needed. https://www.ebay.com/itm/13240477015...3ABFBMrJ7DxNRh

[HO455]

It's been years since I replaced the foam in mine so I don't remember what the factory rivets look like but, I'd bet if you go to McMaster Carr you can find a reasonable facsimile of the factory ones.

https://www.mcmaster.com/products/rivets/

[402Bowtie]

Interesting topic. I got a few measurements.

Rivet head diameter = 0.2185 in (7/32 in)
Rivet tail diameter = 0.1765 in (slightly larger than 11/64 but smaller than 3/16)

I also measured the thickness of the gasket. It appears to be very close to 0.1000 inches.

[Longhorn 69]

I used pop rivets on mine, then I found the regular tubular rivets at an Ace Hardware. My local Ace didn't know what a rivet was, went 20 miles away to a bigger Ace and they knew just what I was looking for and took me right to them. Just saying they might not all have them. GoodLuck

[cericd]

Can you remember the correct size of the regular tubular rivets you found at Ace? Did they have the tool for compressing them? I’ve never seen a tool for those rivets available at a regular store. I always assumed that’s why the online places could charge so much.

[402Bowtie]

I did some more measuring and found online that they recommend the following for rivet length (measured from bottom of head to end of rivet):
Recommended length = (total material thickness) + (1.5)*(rivet diameter)

I measured the thickness of the metal flap that is bent out from the vent door to be 0.03 inches.

Ultimately, I believe the rivet length should be 11/32" or roughly 0.34"... Math in pic below.

I also found one vendor that sells that rivet length in aluminum or steel with a rounded head that is 7/32 diameter.

[jaros44sr]

Well done.402, that is exactly what I need as well, thank you for time invested

[Gyrine]

Outstanding 402,
I am going to order rivets next week.

I am truly grateful for the knowledge and expertise on this site.

Thanks again,
Rob