Good source for stainless fasteners?

[jcode68]

Anyone got some tips on a good source to purchase stainless fasteners? I want to replace most of the under hood bolts with stainless fasteners. I know ARP and AMK have kits for these, but both are a little pricey and thought I could maybe do better. Thanks in advance.

 

[68modstang]

I just went through the same issue building my engine. While there were a few places I did use ARP for piece of mind I found a guy who was more than helpful and says all his bolts are made in the USA. Keep in mind that he mostly does engine bolts in polished stainless, although he does some body kits. Name of the site is http://www.alloyboltz.com/#. I think I paid around $45.00 for a complete engine kit, ARP kit was $110. Hope that helps.

 

[68 Coop]

Have you tried ACE hardware lately??? I was surprised at the bolt selection they have now. Just a thought.

 

[jcode68]

Thanks for the replies. I used ARP fasteners for all engine specific bolts and there is no doubt, they are the best. But I am looking to replcae bolts for things like the shock tower bolts that hold the shock tower covers in place, solenoid, water bottle, export brace, hinges, hood latch and stuff that is visible, but not on the engine. AMK makes some stuff, but again it's pricey. Haven't checked out Ace lately, do they carry polished stainless?

 

[jbuening]

Polished Stainless Body Bolts

or go to your local hardware store and get the correct size stainless bolts. The heads have numbers and letters cast into them but with a bench grinder and some fine sandpaper they will be polished in no time. I did my complete engine and bay with these (except the bolts inside the motor). Used those for intake, waterpump, timing cover, valve cover, oil pan, etc. If you search on ebay for "sbf stainless" or 302 stainless and they sell kits of stainless bolts. These kits are the EXACT same bolts at the local hardware store except they have all the bolts in the correct lengths and in labeled bags. Guess if you are too lazy to go to the hardware store then this would be the way to go if you were putting them on your engine bay. Be careful with the smaller bolts, they tend to break if you torque them at all. Stainless is softer than the Grade 8 bolts obviously.

 

[red65]

My local Lowes also has an unexpectedly complete collection of stainless steel hardware available, at a reasonable price. Not polished, but decent quality. Worth looking... You should heed jbuening's advice - the stainless steel hardware is generally not as strong as Grade 5 or Grade 8 hardware. Be careful not to put a weaker substitute in place of a high-strength bolt in a place that really needs one!

 

[jbuening]

Be careful not to put a weaker substitute in place of a high-strength bolt in a place that really needs one!

Yep, i twisted the head off of a stainless bolt when it got cross-threaded in the front upper shock mount. I was able to torque my intake bolts, which are the same stainless bolts, to the proper torque specs with no problems. I have been keeping an eye on them to see if the bolts stretch too much, causing a intake gasket leak. So far no problems. I also bought stainless carriage bolts and used them for the export brace-to-shock tower connections and i used all stainless washers and nuts. Attached is a pic of my engine bay in case you are wondering how the polished ones look. It's kind of a bad angle to see any of the bolt heads but it's all i got and is an old picture. Alots been updated since. It takes awhile to hand polish them, but the end result IMO is well worth it.

 

[Dark Knight]

http://www.stainlessconnection.com/site/497149/page/45031

 

[iskwezm]

what about Gardner-Wescott???they carry all types of fastners.http://www.gardner-westcott.com/

 

[BobV]

Polished Stainless Body Bolts

Thanks for the mention, jbuening! I'm the seller of those bolt sets. They have a VERY "clean" appearance, and look really slick on any modified car. Much cheaper than most of the other stainless sets out there, too. I'm currently working on getting another 1000. I've got a thread started on VMF looking for customer input - anyone who wants to comment, please do so - not sure where to head with these at the moment!

More pictures of them can be seen in this photo album.

 

[jbuening]

Thanks for the mention, jbuening! I'm the seller of those bolt sets. They have a VERY "clean" appearance, and look really slick on any modified car. Much cheaper than most of the other stainless sets out there, too. I'm currently working on getting another 1000. I've got a thread started on VMF looking for customer input - anyone who wants to comment, please do so - not sure where to head with these at the moment!

More pictures of them can be seen in this photo album.

No problem Hows that Saleen treating you

 

[jcode68]

These are all great options for me to review. I appreciate all the responses.
:SNSign: RULES!

 

[68 Coop]

Haven't checked out Ace lately, do they carry polished stainless?

The one here does, so I would go down and check, ya never know.

 

[BobV]

No problem Hows that Saleen treating you

Having a BLAST with it - the SC motor really RUNS. Had some perfect convertible weather lately too. It's strange for me - collecting NOS & "stock" parts, instead of looking for things to modify!

 

[mustangracer]

FYI to those who want to use stainless fasteners:

The typical hardware store bolts are only slightly stronger than typical grade 2 carbon steel bolts. I would highly recommend not using them for important bolt connections. Also stainless fasteners require anti-seize or you will probably have difficulty removing them even if you torque them properly.

There are some higher strength bolts available at some places, McMaster Carr has a limited selection, there is also Totally Stainless. They make kits for a number of vehicles, and have high strength bolts for suspension and other applications.