The Energon Pub

I unscrewed as many screws as possible to take the figure apart, it was relatively easy to keep track of, but now i encountered two nasty long metal pins that keep together each smoke stack and prevent me from separating the back of the cab (grey) from the front (red and blue flames). How do i take them out??

I tried to google for answers but aside from a few tutorials explaining how to boil the plastic to make it softer in the case of short pins, nothing shows up about freakishly long metal pins...

I really need the cab separated from the back grey part because i need to explore a few possibilities of modifying the cab so that i can give it the appearance of having real interiors by taking out the "Automorph" mechanism and the sound gear and make room for appropriate props.

Also it wil be tremendously helpful for me not having to mess around with masking tape, smudges and splotches, and damaging electric components if i use too much thinner.