I'm just about to fit a set of carbon bow protectors to my car (thank you to CTRMint for his excellent walk-through on his blog; it's going to make things simpler following his steps). Obviously all the rivets will need drilling out before fitting the protectors and this means 22 rivet stalks being lost to history inside the chassis. I was wondering if wayward rivets can really ever be heard in there. There are 1001 other things that rattle on our cars and I can't believe a few rivet stalks could possibly be audible over those and the exhaust noise.
I know some people advocate spraying things like Waxoyl into the chassis to deaden any rattles but does this really work or is it a pointless exercise?
Any thoughts?
The journey is the destination 
I stripped my chassis many years ago for all new panels to be fitted so I hate to think how many in total were in there and I didn't hear a thing
(and I didn't bother with Waxoyl or anythinf similar)
Member since March 1998
When I completed a rebuild you could hear rivets rattling across in the tubes around the dash. A squirt of waxoyl did the trick.
I thought 2020 was the year that was going to give me all I wanted. It turned out to be the year to make me appreciate what I've got.
#4 Ditto. Dash tube is the favourite for hearing old rivets as they traverse back and forth when you go round corners. Waxoil sorted it. Just remember to plug up any unused holes to avoid a lap full of Waxoi.
Was the Waxoyl squirted into a rivet hole using an aerosol straw? I'll stick some into the chassis after I've drilled out the rivets but I'd be astonished if I could hear them down there.
The journey is the destination
Yep, squirted in with aerosol straw and then taped up - quickly!
Putting some in the chassis won't do any harm, but as you say, probably wouldn't hear them down there.
Just on the topic of Rivets, are they all the same size? I'm looking at the two poppers in the middle of the dash scuttle specifically.
Pete
Fancy a club Nürburgring trip in 2023?
Pretty well all the same, stone protector rivets are smaller, the two under the steering column are larger (certainly in older cars). The two in the middle of the scuttle are best replaced with screws if you ever intend to remove the scuttle.
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I believe the vast majority are 4mm X 10mm. I've just sourced some black ones for the bow protector install.
The journey is the destination
Thank you both. Perhaps another novice question while I have you? Are the 'popper' bits separate from the rivets? I.E I would drill out the rivet, and then reattach the popper head with a screw?
Pete
Fancy a club Nürburgring trip in 2023?
Are you sure the poppers are riveted and not held by self-tapping screws? If they're held in with rivets then you need to drill out the rivet and the popper will come away (yes, they're separate).
I'm a Caterham newbie myself so no problem about asking questions. I'm finding Blatchat is a brilliant place for information. Also check out YouTube for tutorials on how to drill out rivets. I was nervous when it did it a few months ago but you'll find a technique that suits you.
The journey is the destination