Finished my removal and replacement of the "WARNING! YOU'RE ALL GONNA DIE, IF YOU DRIVE THIS THING!" placard that I referenced in previous post #1070, in this thread. Here's some more of the steps:
Used a small automatic center punch (tapping a small nail in would work) to drive in the center mandrel steel pin in the 6 pop rivets, then attempted to drill them out with a 1/8" drill - of course they all spun, so swung drill bit off axis a bit to at least thin the metal. Then tapped a sharp chisel in under the rivet heads to shear them off. The aluminum placard can then be pulled off. Besides the rivets, they used adhesive to bond it - it'll still peel off. Go gently so you can use the placard as a template. Straighten the aluminum and put a sheet of paper on the adhesive side so it won't keep sticking to everything. Trim the paper to size, scissors works well.
Note the the placard is cut undersize just a bit. I wanted the panel to fit better than the placard did, so gently clamped the placard to the ABS plastic replacement panel, then used a steel machinist ruler on edge held against the placard, and scribed on the outside of the ruler to add about .050" (IIRC) to all edges. Then cut it out with a saber saw, as my band saw, and all my machine tools are at the hangar :c(. Then a bunch of belt sanding, fitting, more sanding, repeat, to get the new panel fit snuggly. Warning, material is removed quickly with a belt sander, so go gently and fit often.
Next I sharpened the end of a 6-32 x 1/2" set screw to a point (cutting the end of a screw off would work just as well) . Chucked the screw in a drill motor and sharpened the end to a sharp point on belt sander to make a center marking tool:
The pointed screw is threaded into a previously installed 6-32 rivet-nut so the sharp end is just barely protruding enough to prick mark the new panel. The panel is then center punched and drilled with a small drill first, (so it'll be easy to keep the drill centered) then drill with correct size for the screw. Repeat this procedure for each hole, putting screws loosely in the completed holes to keep panel "centered" on all fasteners as you proceed.
I cut the center hole in the dash to allow adjusting and removing the pointed set screw. Note the shift cable at the left side of the hole. I'll later remove more panel material behind a switch panel, but will leave it in place if I decide to use a RAM mount for the added stability.
The finished panel. Screws are temporary, colored black with a felt tip, until I get some black oxide stainless screws.
Someday I’ll take a utility knife and clean up the burrs, or they will wear off eventually on their own.
