[68RS400400]

This is my first resto job and i was wondering what a guy can do with bolts as far as stopping them from rusting goes. Where possible i am replacing any with stainless but some are special (shoulder bolts etc). Can they be anodised or something. Bench grinding and painting seems kinda pointless as the first time you crank em up you rip the paint off the head.

[Unreal]

YOu can phosphate them, the way the general did it. I'm not home, but if you are interested, I'll find the guy's name where you can get the chemicals. You dilute the acid, heat it up to 125 F and stick the bolts in. When they stop fizzing, they,re done. Acid concentrate is about 20 bucks. Does more bolts than you have.

[RickD]

Eastwood has a kit. Lowe's chain of stores has one of the best assortment of auto fasteners I've seen - many of the same ones you pay 3X for from the resto houses. Where possible, I replace with stainless.

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Rick Dorion
69 RS Conv,355,M20,4.10's

[JohnZ]

Be VERY careful with stainless bolts, especially in suspension, steering, or brake-related applications. Stainless fasteners are MUCH weaker than steel (about equivalent to Grade 2, a cheap cut-thread hardware store bolt), with very poor tensile strength - if you read the fine print in the "stainless fastener" catalogs, you'll see this warning (but you'll have to hunt for it). The only clear exceptions to this are ARP and SPS or specialized aircraft fasteners - 99% of the rest of the stainless bolts on the market are for appearance only, and are essentially junk.

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JohnZ
'69 Z28 Fathom Green

[Stewie]

The last resto I did about five years ago I purchased a front end bolt kit. It had every nut and bolt for the front end of your car.( I mean to attach the sheet metal) All anodized in the correct coating. Each set of screws/bolts was color coded and bagged for the part they were attached to. It even had the correct rubber bushings for the rad attachment screws. I think I got it from Camaro Specialties in East Aurora, NY. I would recommend the kit if it still available.
I was also surprised that a local Chev dealer has a large selection in the parts department of bolts that were used in older cars. Unless you are looking for a 100 point resto you could match the bolts up perfectly as to size and look. The markings were sometimes different.

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Only 69 Z/28s
Garnet Red 30,000 mi
Glacier Blue
Rally Green new in 69

[RickD]

Yes, I use stainless for low stress fastener uses such as brackets. I usually err on the side of grade 8.

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Rick Dorion
69 RS Conv,355,M20,4.10's

[jackr]

Don't use acid treatments on critical hardware such as suspension bolts and nuts. You can introduce hydrogen embrittlement that can cause cracking.

[Sleepy-69]

If you're on a budget or time restraint, get a couple of 4 inch wire wheels...the kind that attaches to a variable speed drill. Get the fine wire (not medium or coarse). Put rubber sleeves on your vice, and go to town. The old bolts clean up real nice this way...plus you keep your original bolts...which are tough to find these days.

Bolts from GM will cost you an arm and a leg, even at the local hardware store, but its cheaper there. This is what I did on my 69 Z 28..

All Suspension and frame bolts I used Grade 8, Whats a grade 8 bolt? Well, You count the number of lines on the head of the bolt and add 2.. that will give you the actual grade.

on all engine components I used Grade 8 Black Anodized then painted Socket head bolts, this is a detail thing here. Stainless steel is good also, but I just found that the Socket head bolts made it look better, I cut holes in a carboard for all the bolts to go in it, and painted them over with High Gloss 500 Degree Satin Enamel paint.

I think the only stainless steel bolts I used were of a socket head type that holds down the intake manifold. Also, If you notice on the harmonic ballencer, and crank shaft, the threads are fine, I re-tapped my ballencer holes, and crank shaft for a course thread fit, so that it can properly tourqed down without stripping. Anymore tips just ask.

[JohnZ]

How did you "re-tap" the pulley holes in your balancer and the balancer bolt hole in the nose of your crank from fine to coarse?

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JohnZ
'69 Z28 Fathom Green