Stunt cycle repair question

[Myoldtoys]

I have my brother's original Evel Knievel stunt cycle. The body of it is destroyed but the handlebars are good and the gyro still works. I bought another cycle that has all the body and engine parts I am missing. There are 3 semi tubular rivets that hold the bike together. I ordered replacement rivets. I have been fretting how to install the new rivets.

Then today I decided to remove the old rivets. I did some testing first (on another cycle) and found that if I drill the collapsed side of the rivet it doesn't remove the lip. It actually spreads the lip and rivet tube wider. The opposite of what I need to do. I tried larger drill bits and they just kept making it worse. Cannot use a cutting disc on a dremel either. The rivets are too close to the plastic.

Has anyone removed rivets from one of these before? I could use some advice and tips. Thanks!

[apenutncc1701]

Have you tried using a hammer and punch to get the old rivet out? Depending on the type of rivet, some have a stem in the middle of them. When you knock the stem out, then you can collapse the outer ring of the rivet.

[Myoldtoys]

I ended up making a stand that would hold the cycle and had a metal support at each of the 3 rivet points. After a lot of searching, the majority of references suggested drilling out the head of the rivet instead of the collapsed end. The stand and the plan were good. My first execution of the plan not so good. I drilled off-center and only part of the head came off. It was a major struggle to get the rest out. I used a center punch on the other 2 and they went well.

Then the next challenge was putting in new rivets. I had 5 different punches. It wasn't easy. I was very concerned about pounding on 46 year old plastic. It all worked in the end though. I will post pics.