MRKearney

Finally got my frame sandblasted, primered & painted. I'm now ready to put the new parts and the ones I rebuilt/sandblasted and painted back on. Does anyone have any suggestions regarding the hardware? Should I try and clean the old stuff or are there local resources (e.g. Home Depot) or others resources available. I know I need to watch the grade of the bolts for strength. Do I need to coat them or just spray paint them once their installed?

Rockn-Roll

Depends on the condition of the bolts. I would use the old bolts unless they are rusted badly, pitted, or show signs of being stripped. If you go with new bolts then I highly recommend getting a tap & die set to clean up the threads of where the bolts will go with a tap. If you use the old bolts then clean those threads up with a die.

If you want to use new bolts then Grade 5 is the minimum grade you should use for everything except interior fasteners, and those should be chrome. Home Depo has some, Lowes has a good selection, and even Ace Hardware in some of those little stores have a while isle of nothing but bolts, screws, etc. with several trays specifically for automotive fasteners.

If you are going to paint the bolts then do it only after they are installed. Paint should not be anywhere between the bolt head and the surface where they will be torqued since the paint will interfere with the torque readings. The paint will also deteriorate with time and cause the bolt to come loose.


[Modified by Rockn-Roll, 4:57 PM 9/1/2003]

Pedro'74

I don't even bother trying to find hardware locally anymore---it's very hard to find a well-supplied hardware store. I go directly to:
http://www.mcmaster.com

-Pedro

Indy Year 25

I found that tractor supply stores have grade 5 and 8 fasteners, and they are cheap. They sell them by the pound, mix and match. Here is a post I made a while back. http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zero...569#1544461569

Welcome to the forum!

Smokehouse69

TSC is my choice also, the grade 8 prices are cheap enough that you can use them everwhere. They are a cool looking gold cad plated too!

LemansBlue68

Try http://www.totallystainless.com if you're interested in stainless hardware. They sell the recessed head style with the flange head bolts (looks like OEM style) in both black and natural finish. They have entire kits for Corvettes or sub-kits (for attaching bumpers etc.). They have just about every size bolt imaginable in stainless and they also sell grade 8 stuff. Their prices are not much higher than what hardware stores get for their regular old "steel" bolts. They are good folks to deal with too.

Another good source if you're totally in to correct head markings and exact reproduction bolts is http://www.corvette-paragon.com. They have just about every kind of bolt ever put on a Corvette. Also very nice to deal with.

goofygrin

Third vote for the Tractor Supply. Just clean your shoes off on the way in and out :)

markdtn

Tractor supply is good and our Lowes has a great selection of Grade 8 fastners.

TedH

An aquaintance restored a '67 and used Paragon Reproductions for his OEM hardware source. He wanted all of the correct markings and they met most of his needs.

One Bad 74

Down here in San Antonio there is a place called Ace Bolt & Screw......they have had almost everything that I have needed so far. I have also found that Pep Boys and Car Quest have a large selection of high grade stuff.

MRKearney

Found an Ace Bolt & Screw Company here in Austin. Thanks for the tip, I'll give them a look.

ROD NOCK

I have painted ALL the hardware that I've removed/replaced. Up here, rust is a prob. On fasteners that take little stress, and still look restorable, I've blasted and painted before install. All higher stress fasteners have been replaced with new. For me, it's a cheap price for peace-of-mind.
I've used these guys http://www.midstatesbolt.com as they have an outlet not far from me. :smash: