I’m working outward from the footboxes to the cockpit Al. At this point I’ve only gotten the the transmission cover end siliconed and riveted in place— the trapezoidal piece in the middle of the photo. I’ve found that the Al sub-frame pieces fit together remarkably well— I’ve only had to trim or bend a few pieces and then it was discretionary on my part. My process thus far has been to get as many of the pieces in place, those that are adjacent to each other, before doing the final attachment. I’m reluctant to rivet until a piece is really not going to be removed for any reason. The Cleckos make this possible.
Keeping engine bay heat out of the footbox is important so I need to consider whether a patch for the ‘hole’ shown above is necessary or if I can just use insulation material on the footbox inside. Stay tuned.
My plan for insulation and sound deadening is along the lines of Dynamat or Hushmat but I haven’t decided on the final product.
On removing rivets: On occasion I’ve had to remove a rivet. Until now I’ve just drilled out the mandrel with a 1/8” drill (for the 1/8” rivets) but, in the case of the Cherry-Q rivets, the steel mandrel makes the process a bit tedious. I found that punching out the mandrel with a 1/16” pin punch first (I bought a Dasco set at Home Depot) and then using the 1/8” drill on the rivet itself is the easiest solution. It should make removing rivets with Al mandrels easier, too.
I’m also applying Rustoleum ‘Undercoating’ to the side of the panels that will be facing the pavement (e.g., the footbox floors). I’m using the ‘rattle can’ version and it goes on well.
As to the rivets, refer to my construction section on aluminum and my comparison of Cherry-Q rivets and those supplied by F5.