41 Ford/Merc mast jacket/Bell help!

[Sharmack]

Hello all-

I was wondering if someone could point me in the right direction. I'll do my best to explain the situation.

I am in the process of disassembling the mast jacket/shifter assembly from a 41 mercury.

I have separated the everything including the bell from the column tube.

The one part I am having difficulity with is the bell assembly. There is a pin (that rotates) in which the shifter tube connects to, that is connected to the bell. How do I remove this? On the frontside of the bell, you can see where this pin comes through and is retained by a horseshoe shaped washer that secures it to the bell. It appears that if the pin is rotated enough, you should be able to just slide this horseshoe retainer off but, there is this brass button or rivet that prevents you from sliding the horseshoe clip off. Am I supposed to grind the brass button down and drill and tap for buttonhead screw or something to replace it?

Many thanks. Wanted to ask before I ruined something.

Thanks
chris