John & Russ,
One problem about using rivets on the top bow is their size.
Ideally when done, you want to duplicate the original spot
welding. If you have rivet head sticking up, then it makes
it that much harder to recover over them.
When you have the bow apart, you also should install a
small piece of "angle iron" inside the bow to act as
a stiffener. A piece of 0.040" sheet metal in a "U" should
do fine, just helps reinforce the sheet metal.
Spot weld the reinforcement in place, then close the
bow back up and spot weld it.
I do have one of those fancy spot welders in my garage,
but heck I am still backed up about three months in getting
to 'little projects' so it would take me that long before
I could even get to the spot welding. Now if you are
driving through Texas.... <grin>.
If you find a local shop to do the spot welding, you will
want the sheet metal CLEAN on both exterior and interior
points. Spot welder will pass a high current through the
metal, fusing the two sides together. If they are painted,
you will not be able to pass that current!
Cheers,
Tom Walter
Austin, TX.
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