Thanks for the Youtubes. I have never heard of the black oxide coating but it looks interesting in that he said it is a '"stain" rather than a "coating."
This evening I was looking at the bag of body bolts I have removed and most of them are still in decent shape. It would be a shame to scrap them. I'm definitely going to clean them up and re-use. With some kind of coating. And I just prefer original to the maximum extent possible, no matter what it is.
Also I was thinking that the original bolts were not stainless and for the most part they have held up pretty well for 55 years of mostly hard, weather-exposed use. And there is the fact that my resto will be an occasional driver for the rest if its (my) life, and spend most of its time under cover, I really don't see the need for stainless when it comes right down to it.
Yeah removing the bed bolts was an ordeal as you said. I had pretty good luck breaking them off with large vise grips and twisting them off. Still had grit in my eyes a week later I think. Didn't always remember the safety glasses.
I appreciate the advice.
