MTFCA Forum

Can someone tell me if the clam shell rivets had been brazed on the inside from factory?

I have never seen them brazed on the inside. Outside is more common, but I think this was done later to stop leaks in cars which had a rough time on the roads of the day. I don't think the factory ever brazed the rivets.

I could be wrong again.
Allan from down under.

I have had experience with several early (1911-14) housings that are cracked. One I believe was done as it was being riveted back together. One pair of late 1911-12 housings I bought had been filled level with the surface where the thrust washers rides with brazing (non-factory I'm sure). I would inspect the housings very closely for cracks. The most common areas are around the rivets that hold the tube on and the front where the driveshaft spool bolts on. A lot of the housings are cracked where the driveshaft spool attaches...between the bolt hole to the surface of the housing.

My advice would be to NOT use a rivet gun and pound the "hmmm" out of the rivets that hold the tube to the housing. That, I'm pretty sure, is how the one referenced above was cracked. Use a rivet set, ball pien hammer, and bucking bar in a vice. Have a friend help you hold things while you rivet it. I've done my rivets cold in that area. I also put a little Permatex between the housing and tube to keep the leakage down. One last thing, I would check to be sure the axle tubes have not been bend.

Verne Shirk
Wichita, Kansas - USA

A thread about the rivets on early clamshells
http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/29 ... 1194014305

On my '14, since the rivets were sound and there were no housing cracks, I left them alone and just mig'd over the inside of them. It's been almost 20 years and still no leaks from any of the rivets. There were other areas that required sealing during the restoration but that's a story for another time.