Why the heck do I have to drill out rivets, mess with a spring and go through a couple of hours of tribulation for what should be a simple task! The people that design the cars seem to have no touch with the people that have to repair them! Grumpy me.
On an assembly line it is faster (and cheaper) to rivet things together as opposed to nuts and bolts. Years ago, I remember watching a mechanic having to drill out the rivets for what I think was a radiator support bracket on a 1947 Dodge in order to remove that piece so that the engine could be pulled. When the engine was replaced, the part was bolted back in. Even in the good old days, things were made difficult
Here are some other good old day features of the late 1940’s that made servicing and repair more difficult:
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On the 1947 Studebaker, the engine had to be removed to remove the oil pan.
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On Chevrolets, Buicks, and Nashes, the driveshaft and rear axle were one piece (torque tube drive). The rear axle had to be dropped to remove the transmission.
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Buick hid the spark plugs under a cover that had to be removed to get at the spark plugs. The purpose of this eludes me.
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On most cars, the master brake cylinder was under the floor and the floormats had to be pulled up and a plate removed to add brake fluid. Ford moved the master cylinder under the hood in 1952. It was a while before the other manufacturers followed their lead.
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The battery in the Chevrolet trucks of this period was under the passenger floorboard. You had to pull back the floormat and remove a plate to get at the battery.
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The 1946-48 Dodges had a butterfly hood that was hinged in the middle and you could open the left side or the right side or both. You had to remove the hood, however, to remove the radiator.
The cars that were built with easier servicing in mind even in those days were the Checkers that were built primarily for taxicab service.
OK, thanks it is not a new thing to not make replacement parts user friendly.