Chassis reinforcement DIY

This is an old trick a lot of Japanese tuning companies use to stiffen the chassis of their circuit/ race cars... Im gonna show you how to do it...

First is the list of things youll need...

1: drill ( i prefer an electric with a cord other then one with a battery just to i dont need to worry about it dying on me)

2: ball-pen hammer (or any other hammer with a metal head)

3: center-punch (to mark a good start point for the drill)

4: drill bits ( i prefer a cobalt (the material of the bit not the lowes brand) drill bit because they last longer dont go cheap on this one or youll know it

5: rivet gun (blind rivet fastener rivet tool..etc)

6: appropriate size rivet *** SEE NOTE *** ( i used short 3/16ths (#6) size they make steel and aluminum and some others i chose aluminum because its lighter)

after your interior is out the first thing to do is find the spot wields in the chassis

use a center punch and a hammer to make a divet between them..





drill a hole that is the same size diameter as the rivet you are using (keep in mind what could possibly be behind the metal like suspension, tires, etc dont drill into anything you need)







place the rivet inside the hole.. it should be a little snug



then use the rivet gun to expand the rivet until the end breaks off..(be careful as sometimes the end will shoot out of the back of the gun (not often but it can happen)



make sure that you press the head of the rivet flush against the metal



once the end breaks off youre done and ready to repeat until you are satisfied... also should mention that you should use a rivet slightly longer then the thickness of the metals you are joining together ( i used ones with a 1/4 inch grip length on all of mine because i dont think its important enough to measure each hole



what it should look like when finished (well kinda my bit isnt sharp enough to drill any more holes lol )


*** NOTE***

good point i shouldve mentioned this ONLY USE CHERRY MAX/ CHERRY LOCK RIVETS the other ones dont really do anything but hold things together.. they are hollow in the center when you are done with them and are not for anything structural


for sake of time and his post the rivets i used were pop rivets.. here is a comparison of the right (cherry max) rivet and the wrong (pop) rivet to use

the cherry max is the rivet on the left and correct one to use... dont use one like the one on the right

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