The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk The nuts and bolts of it all

I just finished a basic mechanical rebuild of the front suspension, entire brake system and engine of my '51 3100. Thats a lot of nuts and bolts! Basically I de-rusted, de-greased and polished up every piece of hardware that wasn't busted. I think that I spent as much time doing that as any other task. Which leads me to wonder what everyone else does? Those old bolts and washers, etc. are great looking pieces and I tend to believe they are better quality than today's hardware that is made in???. BUT this portion of a restoration is VERY time consuming! Thoughts.....?

I reused as many original fasteners as I could.

re-used my original clutch-heads also
Some of the bolts have markings like, T or TR

I hope your coating all those nuts and bolts with rust inhibitor. Rewarding is the word that comes to mind when I think about all the time I spent cleaning all those parts. Sometimes I even thought I was crazy to spend days or weeks just to get something to look good or fit better. In the end, when its all done, you get the personal satisfaction "reward". I even have to laugh when I think about all the tee shirts and jeans I've ruined while working on my projects. I try to forget about the scrapes, cuts, and blood loss! Relax and enjoy the process of building a vehicle. Just my 2cents.

What type of rust inhibitor do you recommend?

Soaking over night in phosphoric acid cleans most of them up nicely.

Thanks for the thoughts!

Cletis, what do you use as a soaking tub? How often do you replace the phosporic acid? Do you degrease first to remove the heavy stuff? And do you have to remove or nuetralize the acid afterwards?

Tim, thanks for asking that question! I was wondering the same thing!

I replace everything. Unless it can't be replaced. I use made in the USA hardware that have known capacity / torque ratings. I don't have an interest in using old, fatigued worn hardware. I've seen too much of that stuff break.

Mark, what's your favorite hardware supplier?

Right now I'm using Bowmalloy.

I use, and the book by the late Mr. Brownell says, Lye. Ace has red devil lye. Use it 50/50 with water, soak hardware and/or all steel parts in a plastic or metal container for 3-5 days. Stir/shake it once in a while. Hardware comes out clean as a whistle. If it's warmed in a metal pot it is more effective he says but NOT necessary. You will be amazed. Wear goggles/gloves when messing with it and when final washing in water. Put a weight on the lid of the plastic container and lock it up while soaking. You don't want Kids or animals to get at it. Mark the plastic container with POISON label. Dispose of it properly. It's made for drains so it's ok to dump down drain. Some say you can use Drano. I, too, use most of the hardware over again. The strength is still there. Chase all threads, male and female. If the lock washers are flatish, don't reuse them. They need to have the normal split/stick-up or the spring loading is gone. I also use a wire wheel on my bench grinder to clean hardware. I get the hardware at a hardware store

I replace 95 present of all my stuff with 18-8 stainless from Mcmaster Carr.

Pete

Another inexpensive way is to soak the metal in white vinegar for several days. T pre-clean/remove the grease first. Stir or shake the container ever now & then. When rust is removed rinse with water.
Works formee.
Harold

I replace most with good quality stainless (not the cheap stuff). Also use a quality tap and die set to chase every thread on origanal parts. Cleaning is good for the outside, but you need to get the gunk and rust out of the bottom of the threads.

Wow! Great replies...Thanks so much! I did not realize that we had lost Mr. Brownell. He did a great job on his books, think I have read the first edition 10 times over again and I still reference it right alongside the shop manual as I am going through each job. I got the second edition just to see what our esteemed Mr Milliman had to say!

As read through your replies I see that I am doing a combination of many of these things as well...now I can do them better next time and I have some good sources for those pieces too far gone to re-use. Awesome!

I do antique mechanical restorations. Authenticity is important. That said, I replace all slotted head screws (new and old are all alike), all washers unless special made and any standard bolt with damaged threads or head.
Bolts are another story. Bolt heads in older equipment had plain heads, no load and rating markings. Any where they show, new bolts look out of place. If I can't save them or find spares in my bolt bin, I will mill or grind off the markings of new bolts.
Also there were a lot of different head profiles back in the day that can't be sourced today so they all have to be saved.
But, If it doesn't change the function or look of the finished product, life is too short to clean the rust and scale off a pile of 5/16 or 3/8 bolts that you can buy in boxes of 50 or 100.

Right on! I had one bolt that broke while removing a front brake backing plate...so I replaced it and prepped the survivors. They all looked fine installed but that new one just looked out of place. I guess I really like the look, markings and just authenticity of the original hardware, it looks like something my Grandpa would have handled in his shop while I watched on and that original american feel is a big part of why I love these trucks. However with my limited metallurgy knowledge I did wonder about fastener strength after multiple years of stress. I always use torque values when listed and inspect for damage due to abuse or rust. Sometimes the cleanup effort is just a way to see "what lies beneath" and to assess the condition of the fastener!

737Greg -

You can dip the new bolts in phosporic acid (Ospho or concrete prep) to dull the bright finish and make them a little less obvious among the old bolts. It may remove any rust preventive plating.

I've also found that after the phosphoric acid, you can brush them with a brass brush to give them a little bit of yellow cad look.

Thanks for spending time on the little things to keep the project original looking.

- Lonnie

Lonnie,

Thank you! Hopefully soon I will get some pictures posted...she's not perfect but I love her anyway!