Need some Chaparral help

[Bill Legere]

Hi, I have started to restore an early Rupp Chaparral Kart. I need to replace the aluminum floor pan that is riveted to the tubular frame, but I am not sure what I am up against. What concerns me is removing the rivets. Do I drill? grind? What happens to the bits in the tube? Any tricks to getting them out? The existing pan is pretty beat up. I think it may have been replaced at one time as it seems to be a rather light gauge? What gauge should the Aluminum be? Any information,suggestions or tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Bill

[Dan Flanders]

Hi Bill-
Easiest thing to do is drill the heads out taking special care not to wallow out the holes. No way to get them out of the frame unless you cut it so most of the old karts can realistically be called rattle traps
Can't speak to the exact gauge of the floor pan, but I am sure someone will chime in.

[Rob Voska]

You can get all the rivets to one area of the tube & squirt some silicone inside the tube to glue the rivits inside the frame tube so they don't rattle.

[ted johnson]

Lotta steel pans are 18 Ga. (.0478), and most aluminum pans I see are 16 Ga. (.0508). Anything thinner is pretty fragile for a daily runner; thicker is a bit of extra weight and less flexible. I sure like Rob's silicone idea! Hope this helps. TJ

[Bill Legere]

Lotta steel pans are 18 Ga. (.0478), and most aluminum pans I see are 16 Ga. (.0508). Anything thinner is pretty fragile for a daily runner; thicker is a bit of extra weight and less flexible. I sure like Rob's silicone idea! Hope this helps. TJ

Thanks everyone for all the great information and advice. Bill