Posted by David Sherman on Friday, November 02, 2007 at 12:39:01 :
In Reply to: Re: frame rivets posted by JohnS on Thursday, November 01, 2007 at 21:08:06 :
The bolt heads look good, but no way would I try to cut more threads on them and use them for a structural application like this. The threads are rolled, and any threads you cut will be so shallow that you could probably strip them off just putting a normal torque on the nut. Plus, you'd still only have it looking "right" on one side. I haven't tried riveting anything like this, but I don't think it would be that hard to make a simple bucking bar, heat the rivets with a torch, have somebody hold the bucking bar, and then form the heads just hammering with a hammer. They heads wouldn't be as perfect as factory-made ones, but they'd be better than nuts, and more importantly they'd fill the holes perfectly even if the frame holes were mis-aligned, and they'd be tight and permanent.
Theoretically, bolts aren't as good as rivets, since the holes have to be a little bit oversize and the pieces can slide, but I've never heard of a truck frame failing due to somebody using bolts. If you were concerned, you could do like they do in critical structural applications and align the parts, and then ream the holes to the next size over and use a bolt that was snug fit in the hole. That bolt should be threaded only as far down as the nut needs to go, not all the way to the head.
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