Well, today I managed to get a little work done on that leaf bracket. I removed the two rivets holding the bracket to the side of the frame. It was my first time removing rivets, man those rascals are in there good. I basically used a small flap wheel and took the heads off of the rivets as carefully as I could to avoid any damage to the bracket. Then I drilled a small center into each and beat them out with a long pointed pry-bar and small sledge.
As hard as those were to remove I'm a little worried about getting the 2 remaining rivets out. They go through the frond and rear of the bracket on the bottom, through the frame, and then through the cross-member. I've got some nice and small 2" 80 grit flap wheels I can get on my die grinder that should have enough clearance to get the heads off of the rivets in that tight space. I just don't know if i'll be able to get enough leverage to tap them out laying on my back. I'm getting a headache just thinking about it!
I'll let you guys know how that deal goes. I'll probably try and remove one of the bottom rivets tomorrow.
