93 vl 2.2 -the part appears to be held in place by 2 rivets of some sort. how do i get them out? do i just try and hammer them out or drill them out? pry them out?

 

Don't know about a 93, but what I had do to get the lock cylinder out of my son's 96 was to drill a 9/32 hole in the bottom of the lock cylinder and then take a pair of needle nose plyers and break the retainer spring.

 

those are tamper resistant bolts. you can sometimes get them out using a punch and a hammer.. I typically center punch then, and drill them out.