How do you drill out the truck rivets without destroying the car in the process?
I wanted to cannibalize the modern needle-point-bearing trucks from one nondescript car to save another, and ended up severely damaging BOTH cars in the attempt!
The problem I have is the rivets spin, heating up the plastic and melting it. There is seemingly no way to prevent the rivet from spinning.
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To remove the rivet try drilling from the smaller side with a drill bit just a bit larger then the bottom of the rivet. You may have to put the car in a vise and insert a small shim under the truck like either a popsicle stick or a door shim(from when you hang a new door in the doorway entrance).
Try to drill enough of the metal off the rivet and then push the rivet through the truck assembly.
Lee Fritz
I use a grinding bit and hold it at an angle (30-45 degrees if possible) to the rivet. That minimizes spinning. Most times you don't have to remove all of the metal, just make it thin enough so you push it through.
Pete
I've had the same problem with some MPC/Lionel cars. I ended up using small wire cutters and needle nose pliers to bend up and/or break away the peened over part of the rivet.
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