The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline 1948 frame rivets

I have a 48 3/4ton truck and looking at my front frame I noticed the front crossmember rivets on the driver side are loose. Does anybody know the correct fix for this problem. Should I use bolts or weld or what?

Do not weld. If you have the capability to install new rivets, that would be best but you will need lots of access,some special tools plus at least two competent friends. A grade 8 fine thread bolt the same diameter as the hole torqued properly with a lock nut will also do the job.

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I used bolts in a different area

I have read or heard here that a rivet on a stovebolt equates to a grade 3, maybe five but definitely not a grade 8.Using a grade 8 is a common practice for any replacements I've had.

Nice clean work as always Dad's 50!

For things like shock towers, the factory should have used grade 8 bolts. Reason they didn't has to do with the really not so perfect 1/8" metal they used for the frame itself. This thin metal can warp, warble and cause a failure so easily. By having ANY space between a bolt and the frame, you can add to this effect. They ruled out this possibility by using rivets. Rivets are the reason they were able to get away with 1/8" frame material. By completely and totally filling the hole so completely it effectively makes the connection as solid as if it were welded (almost), they got away with it. Gus always does an excellent job.. expect nothing else. If I were replacing shock towers, they would get grade 8 bolts. Every shock mount I have ever seen from that era is damaged in some way due to the stresses the factory didn't expect. I weld them up all the time. It wasn't one of the engineers more shining moments. All they should have done was make the shock tower material 5/32 or so. They didn't expect the dang truck to last 100 years! The frame is grade 2 mild steel as well as every part on the frame including the rivets. That really puts you at the mercy of the design.

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.

I have had to replace a forward-rear leaf spring mount. I wish I could have attached it with rivets but with my current resources I attached it with, I believe, 5/16 grade, fine threaded bolts. I incrementally torqued it down with my trusty torque wrench to 70 ft/lbs. I hasn't budged in the 14k miles I have driven my 3100.

Walt Williams
La Verkin, UT