Riv nuts tunnel cap

[Brocker]

I’m thinking of using 5 mm riv nuts instead of the rivets for the center cap or the tunnel cap. Anybody have any problems with that?

 

[Robinjo]

I'm considering something similar, curious to see if others have tried this and issues that arose.

 

[Gtstorey]

I welded coupling in the center of the channel and drilled holes in the caps and bolted through from the top.

 

[Brett]

I used rivnuts. Be sure that the holes in the cover line up with the holes in the tunnel.

I used m4 on the tunnel and it worked well. I did have to chase the threads with a tap.

Brett

 

[Ross]

I used rivnuts on the tunnel. Only issue was the Cobalt shifter has a bit if movement. Fixed with 1/4" bolts going to the floor.

 

[Rttoys]

I just used screws. As ross said, a “dead leg” off the shifter is a good idea to stiffen the cap up.

 

[Jm12]

I'm about to tear off my old tunnel cap and I absolutely will not be riveting it back in place. I didn't know that threaded rivets were a thing so I'm glad I ran across this thread.

 

[Lndshrk Steve]

I am using #8-32 x 3/8" Phillips machine screws, pan head in Stainless. Tapped the tunnel and drilled the covers slightly larger. A good supplier of stainless is MarineBoltSupply.com.

 

[k.rollin]

I am using #8-32 x 3/8" Phillips machine screws, pan head in Stainless. Tapped the tunnel and drilled the covers slightly larger. A good supplier of stainless is MarineBoltSupply.com.

View attachment 30686

This is what I did, except my tunnel is threaded for M4 fasteners because I already had a bunch of them.

 

[JBINTX]

I am using #8-32 x 3/8" Phillips machine screws, pan head in Stainless. Tapped the tunnel and drilled the covers slightly larger. A good supplier of stainless is MarineBoltSupply.com.

View attachment 30686

Are you worried about the sharp ends of the screws rubbing through any of the lines if they vibrate around?

 

[Lndshrk Steve]

They are machine screws, not as sharp as sheet metal screws. That's why I went with the tap. Also, the wires lay in the bottom of the console and the screws are in the upper corners.

 

[YoungGun]

I used rivnuts on the tunnel. Only issue was the Cobalt shifter has a bit if movement. Fixed with 1/4" bolts going to the floor.

I am looking to do this same thing. How is it working for you? Any specific specs or tips? Did you screw into the baseplate or the shifter base itself ( not sure my terminology is correct haha).

 

[Ross]

The rivnuts have worked well. Bolting the shifter to the floor does great at stabilizing the shifter. My shifter has a thick aluminum base plate, so the steel plate on the DF tunnel is kind of redundant. I counter sunk the 1/4"x20 allan bolt heads into the shifter base, and the threads go into a rivnut in the floor cross bracing. So those long bolts sandwich the DF base plate and the tunnel.

 

[YoungGun]

Hmm, not sure I could do exactly the same thing. It looks like the base plate and shifter mount aren't directly over the cross brace. I wonder if putting in vertical brace's on either side inbetween the base plate and the floor plate that would keep either side of the base plate from moving down, thus restricting how much it would rock. This would place some upward pressure on the base plate and thus tunnel cap so IDK.

 

[Rttoys]

This was my solution. My seat setup is different than others, but you can still make a s bracket and mount it to the cross brace.

 

[YoungGun]

This was my solution.

Oh nice solution! Is it just on that side or did you fashion both sides? Is it pretty rock solid now?

 

[Rttoys]

Oh nice solution! Is it just on that side or did you fashion both sides? Is it pretty rock solid now?

Just the one side. Solid as a rock.

 

[YoungGun]

Wow you got a seat adjustment slider on there too. I was just reading BAR-AIR's thread on that and it seemed to be a pain in the ass to get installed.

Anyways, looks like I need to install a rivnut on the cross brace then find an s-shaped bracket that will fit. Thanks for the idea!

 

[Rttoys]

Yes. NRG recline seats, with adjusters. Mounting base is for a cobalt. Can’t remember the brand, but many have used there here after posted about it. It mounts like a cobalt seat, but it’s loose up front, so I added a spacer and hard mounted it to the crossmember.

post 93 of my build thread.

Rttoys’s track- ‘06 ss/sc #184

So, I finally installed the brake reservoir and bleed the brake and clutch. I used my vacuum bleeder, which did very well. I basically did it all myself, but had my lovely assistant press the pedals, while I did a final bleed at the end, to ensure all was bleed through. I had a couple minor...

dfkitcar.com

 

[Rttoys]

I made my S bracket from some 1/8” flat plate.