1911 1912 axle housings

[andrew o sullivan]

H guys can i ask a question i have early 1911 axle and my rivets are after getting lose. where and who supplies the rivets and did any one ever put a round headed bolt in its place my car is laid up 2 years i got a spare housing . i got them on good word and got them delivered to Hershey payed for them before they where delivered but to my surprise there bent im going to have to re rivet my good axle , need so info on how is the best way to do this and where do i get the rivets , thanks guys

[RGould1910]

I assume Big Flats Rivet Co is still in business. They are located in NY.
If I were doing the job, I'd temove the rivets, separate the pieces, clean thoroughly and put together temporarily with nuts and bolt for alignment. Then I'd remove one bolt at a time and replace with a rivet. I wouldn't use heat for fear of warpage. I had to deal with early housings that were brazed at the rivet holes to prevent leaks amd the result was warpage, pretty bad too. It wouldn't be a bad idea to use silicone sealant on the mating surfaces before bolting things together.

[andrew o sullivan]

thanks Richard I'm sure big fat rivets are not in business any more thanks Richard ,i tried to email but no luck . I'm not sure who will supply the rivets

[speedytinc]

There was an excellent thread doing the same rivet job on 13-14 housings. Find that old thread. Various methods were used, including button head bolts with the hex filled after. I have the same loose/leaky rivet problem on my 14, so I took note.

[dykker5502]

Big Flats Rivet Company has closed due to the owners health issues: http://www.bigflatsrivet.com/

[RGould1910]

I see Langs sells rivets for a 13-14 rear end. You might contact them and see if they work for an 11-12. I bet they would. I also see McMaster Carr sells rivets. If the round heads are too tall, you can turn or file them down to size. They're probably a 1/4" shank rivet, but you have the original to check against.

[Joe Bell]

Andrew, are the rivets loose on the housing you are working on? if not why not setup in lathe heat the tubes to straighten them, use center to keep small end straight, as it cools keep adjusting center in to keep straight.

[Allan]

Joe, do you have a way to centre the large end on the bearing bore, or do you just rely on the outer diameter of the pumpkin? When I had to correct some warpage following welding up cracks in the pumpkin castings, I made a spiggot to fit the bearing bore so the mating surfaces of the pumpkin castings were true to the bore.

Allan from down under.

[Joe Bell]

Allen, one in is bolted to the lathe head, made a plate, other end has machined part that goes in the bearing surface to keep it straight but it made on a center to spin as heating.

[Allan]

Got it Joe! I couldn't imagine grabbing the pumpkin casting in a 3 jaw chuck being anywhere near a consistent centreline.

Allan from down under.