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MG MGA - splash plate rubber seals

Has anyone found a way to set the split rivets that attach the rubber seals to the splash plates that duplicates the original?

Thanks!
George G.

Barney has something on his web sight.. sorry I do not have the link right now.
Ron Bissland

Takes 3 hands. I used a piece of 14 gauge copper wire, bent to straddle the split rivet. Took an old engine valve and ground two curved shapes... (like the top part of a heart), and used that to set the rivet with a hammer. Removed the wire, then tapped lightly again for the final set.
C.R. Tyrell

Use pop rivets
Art Pearse

You could use self set peel rivets - see pic............................Mike


m.j. moore

They are pretty neat Mike, but should the head not rest against the rubber and the rivet peel on the back against the panel? Yes I do know I am being pedantic!
Neil MG

Neil, yes, the rivet head was against the rubber per original on my car.
George G.

Neil, When I did mine I was convinced that the correct way to fasten two sheets together, one of which was soft (rubber), with a bifurcated rivet was to have the pointed bifurcated tip on the rubber side.
Assuming that the originals had been made with an unpunched rubber seal and the pointed rivet tip was meant to puncture the rubber then the operator would have had to have the steel part on top so he could see the holes and the rivet setting tool would be underneath on the rubber side.
If the rubber seals had been pre-punched it would have been better to have the curled bifurcated ends biting into the rubber to avoid the possibility of a relatively small diameter rivet head squeezing through the hole in the rubber.
But I agree they would look neater the other way around.........................Mike
m.j. moore

George

Have a look at Barney's site or this BBS. http://mgaguru.com/mgtech/body/bd108b.htm

I found an original tool get up to do the job at the factory that probably made the original rivets.

The trouble is that the modern rivets don't have the same shape as the originals or are much softer. The rivets were put through from the rubber side on my original splash plates. See photos on Barney's pages.

John
John Francis

Thanks John, I had seen that page on Barney's web site, very interesting!
George G.

Kinda late George. Have you seen this page? I don't get here very often. http://mgaguru.com/mgtech/tools/ts216.htm
Chuck Schaefer

Thanks Chuck...no I had not seen that on Barney's website, although I searched it. Looks like it could be a solution, thanks!
George G.

This thread was discussed between 14/10/2014 and 01/11/2014

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