The wire mesh on one of my hood inserts is loose. It looks like the only way I can fix it is by removing the air grabber unit. Is this correct?

If so, has anyone replaced the rivets with screws or bolts to re-attach the air grabber?

Why did they use rivets anyway?

unfortunately Bernie, that is the only way I know to do it. Luckily, you can get the rivets from R/T. While you have it apart, this is the time to put a new 440 call out on the hood if yours are worn or bad. Good luck

I have over 1000 of those rivets in stock...

you have a pm

To install the rivets you'll need a riveter, they are available at nearly any hardware store, home depot, etc... It's been awhile since I've bought one but they are only $20-$25. One thing I would strongly suggest is putting a stop on the drill bit when you drill out the old rivets so you don't slip and go through the hood from underneath. When I drilled the rivets on the GTX I wrapped the bit with several layers of duct tape so roughly 1/4" of the drill bits tip showed

Thanks Black Sheep. I had a brain f@rt and have put on rivets before. Don't know what I was smoking when I wrote that question.

BTW, thanks for that tip about the duct tape. Great idea.

Is there a certain order that the rivets should be removed? Will the whole thing fall in my lap when I remove them? Is it a 2 man job?

Yes you are correct the screens are held in with L shaped brackets and phillips screws. The air grabber is 3 pieces center section and the two sides. So you can take it off in any order by yourself. Here is another tip for you. If the rivets you get have a steel pin in them, you are dealing with 40 year old plastic there. Drive the pin out of the rivet and grind a break notch in it so that it does not take as much pinch to get it to break. You can experiment with some extras to get the feel for the grind notch. I have done a couple and some times the rivets will actually crush the plastic before they snap off. Depending on the bracket that is loose you may get to it by taking off the side cover plates on the grabber and reaching in with a 90 degree screwdriver and get lucky also. Cudapower

Thanks Cudapower. Good things to know.