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MG MGA - Rivet punch

What is a good tool to set the rivets on the rocker cover (holds the badges on)?
Art Pearse

Art,
We were talking to Cecila Bruce (SF) about this at GT35. She sells a split rivet that she claims is correct. She said you reach inside with thin screwdriver or similar and spread the legs of the split rivet. Lots of people just use pop rivets.
Cheers,
Gerry
G T Foster

Whatever you use, make sure to seal up the inside to prevent the oil from weeping out the gaps. It is common to see oil weeping from under the badges.
Chuck Schaefer

Art, the rivets I used on my newly painted original top cover were purchased from Brown & Gammons in UK. They look very original, they are solid and very hard. The way I fitted them was by using a small ball pen hammer, (do one rivet at a time), turn the cover upside down and rest the rivet head onto a solid metal bar. The cover must not touch on the metal as you will scratch the paint. Using the ball end of the hammer, firmly but very gently, hammer on the rivet end from inside the cover. I found that the rivets were a bit too long to hammer the ends flat, which entails having to do quite a bit of hammering. So, I cut about 1/8" of each rivet which would leave enough metal protuding through the hole. This makes it much easier to set the rivets in place. I placed one rivet in its hole and knocked the end enough not to come out of its hole, but still loose. The second rivet was put in place and hammered flat. Finished off the other rivet and the job was done. I did 3 covers this way and all came out perfect. Do not use pop rivets on the top cover, they look aweful.

Frank
F Camilleri

Good question Art. I have a chrome plated original cover that I used pop rivets to attach the badges about 5 years ago- they must look awful then according to Frank but I don't look too closely- yes they do leak oil too. I have just obtained another original cover which I have painted and is now awaiting new badges to be fixed so I can replace the chrome one as the plating is showing signs of wearing thin with rust coming through.So do I make an awful job with pop rivets or use the hammered flat ones from B & G and risk denting/scratching the newly painted one. Like Art I need a straight forward way - is it possible to fill the pop rivet with solder ?
Cam Cunningham

Cam, pop rivets are usually aluminium so you can't solder them with convential lead/tin. I got some of the proper rivets and fitted them the way Frank describes, but they leaked oil under the labels. I tried tightening them up but they still leaked! I resorted to good old pop rivets in the end and it cured the leak. Can't say I really notice how the labels are attached when I lift the bonnet, but I sure used to notice dirty oil film over the rocker cover!
Lindsay Sampford

You can get closed end pop rivets which should prevent oil leakage.

You might succeed in soldering the aluminium with a lead free solder. I am told it can be done but I had no success when I tried.
Malcolm Asquith

Soldering aluminum is part science and part art. Not successful 100% of the time and it takes a lot of heat. You may damage the printed labels. I'd try just putting a dollup of RTV gasket maker on the inside of the cover making sure to envelop the rivet's end. I fixed my leaking problem by using an Aluminum valve cover with its own problems to resolve.

One other way to solve the leak is to solder up the hole in the cover. Paint it. Then apply the badges using some form of adhesive (RTV or Liquid Nails?). Then you can carefully cut the rivet head from the rivet and glue it in place. Not original but a sure fire way to keep it from leaking.
Chuck Schaefer

Chuck, you have just created a new check that concourse judges will have to do; test for electrical conductivity beween the label rivet heads and the rocker cover!
Lindsay Sampford

Art,

I got my rivets from Todd Clarke. They were not spilt rivets but had a small dimple on the inside end. I used a "center punch" to initially spread the rivet and than a hammer blow to seal it. The head was supported on a block of very hard wood.

These rivets look correct and are like the originals I have seen. I have not had any leak problems in 18000 miles. I could guarantee oil leaks with an unsealed split rivet, but I won't start that discussion with Cecilia.

Hope your "MG" label is red not black. Cecilia will definitely tell you about that.

Jim
Jim Ferguson

Lindsay, I guess we'll just have to use conductive epoxy then won't we. Gotta keep them Concourse judges on their toes. ;>)

Then maybe they will have to take away points just for too little oil/dirt film on the valve cover.
Chuck Schaefer

This thread was discussed between 18/08/2010 and 19/08/2010

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