If you can borrow the right size Rivet 'Sets' you can Heat the loose Rivet with an Oxy-Acetylene Torch to a nice Cherry 'Red', and, quickly, re-compress the Rivet.
One can also make perfectly good River Sets if need be, using any heavy short-section of Steel Bar Stock, and, modifying a Twist Drill of appropriate diameter to make a round Bottom 'Hole' of the correct depth needed...or by using a 'Burr' in a Drill Press, to Round-Bottom an otherwise shallow conventional Drill profile Hole.
Ideally, new like-same Rivets would be the way to go.
Hot Riveting is fun and satifying, and, pretty easy once one has the hang of it...far better than a Weld, too.
No one ever Welded Frames or other Serious Chassis connections, since Rivets were a superior method, and would never crack from twisting and stressing of the Frame and so on, like a Weld will tend to do.
Substituting a Nut and Bolt with a smooth Shank for the join thickness, is 'okay' also of course, but, never looks right.
Last edited by Thriftmaster_Phi; 08/09/2014 6:16 AM.
