Is stainless OK for restoration nuts & bolts?

[Stangsx2]

For my restoration project i'm not trying to make the car perfect concours, but would like to make it 'show' well and as much like original as possible. I plan to buy nut & bolt restoration kits from AMK and like the idea of stainless steel for longevity. Can anyone tell me if this would be a "points deductible" move or if judges allow for stainless.
Thanks.

 

[chromedog]

stainless fasteners would be a points deduction in a concours class. unless your car has ALL the correct belts, hoses, clamps, (i dont think there are many cars on this forum that falls into this catagory) i wouldnt sweat it. btw, for a little more bling, hit your bolt heads with a buffer, and some jewelers rouge!

 

[Stangsx2]

Hi,
Thanks for the response. Are you saying to polish the stainless ones? I assumed they would already be bright.
Brian

 

[chromedog]

they will be kinda bright, but not mirror bright, like they were polished!

 

[65ShelbyClone]

Yeah, normal stainless fasteners will be a brighter silver, but polishing will make them VERY shiny.

 

[RedGTvert]

For my restoration project i'm not trying to make the car perfect concours, but would like to make it 'show' well and as much like original as possible. I plan to buy nut & bolt restoration kits from AMK and like the idea of stainless steel for longevity. Can anyone tell me if this would be a "points deductible" move or if judges allow for stainless.
Thanks.

For any of the concurs classes you will get dinged for stainless fasteners unless they were original to the car.

The only reason to go stainless is for bling factor. The original type fasteners will hold up for longer then you may own the car. When my 67 was restored, many of the original 39 year old fasteners were reused , which held up quite well for a car that was sold and lived in the northeast all it's life until 2006.

 

[BullittStangV8]

If you are looking to just show well, and not be concurs correct, then I would suggest possibly upgrading to grade 8 for some certain aspects of the build (high torque load bolts for example). They are however, not silver, or even that shiny.

 

[JamesW]

Stainless steel bolts have a lower strength than Grade 8 bolts. Don't use them in a high load situation.

 

[Stangsx2]

I guess my thoughts are that I want the fasteners to look original but I fear that if I use original type stuff they will just rust or corrode quickly. (Though I only take the car out of the garage when the weather is dry, it will still get wet from washing.)
I also thought about using some Eastwood, or similar, clear coat protectant on the standard metal fasteners. But I imagine it would be hard to apply it thoroughly to an in-place bolt and not get some on surrounding materials; or if I apply it prior to installment it will probably chip or crack when a wrench is used on it and leave the metal exposed anyway.
So, I keep coming back to stainless.
But then I'm trying to keep the car as original looking as possible......
...and around I go again!!!! Anyone know a good gearhead therapist?
Thanks, for the comments.

BTW is stainless softer than other metals, say a grade 8?

 

[mikethebike]

stainless fasteners would be a points deduction in a concours class. unless your car has ALL the correct belts, hoses, clamps, (i dont think there are many cars on this forum that falls into this catagory) i wouldnt sweat it. btw, for a little more bling, hit your bolt heads with a buffer, and some jewelers rouge!

That's what I did back in96 when I rebuilt the XLCH. Bought SS Allen-heads and buffed the heads. Took a ton of greef from some Harley people who thought I should have just used chrome bolts....they don't seem to realize if you chrome a 1/4-20 you no longer have a 1/4-20 but you than have that + the poorly done chrome and when you run them in you either crack the chrome or enlarge the female thread. Plus the buffed SS looks 20 feet deep.

 

[mikethebike]

Stainless steel bolts have a lower strength than Grade 8 bolts. Don't use them in a high load situation.

That would depend on the composition of the SS. I'm positive someone here will offer a correction should I be wrong but the last time I checked if you buy Allen head bolts they are required to be grade 8. Otherwise you crack the head when you torque it.

 

[truck90278]

Stainless steel bolts are generally equivalent to a grade 2 bolt (with the exception of some high strenght bolts). Standard SS bolts should not be used in any high load application. for general assy, they are fine. As far as loosing points on concourse judgeing, yes, that will happen. I agree that many of the old bolts can be re-used, but the one factor I like with SS is they don't EVER RUST. That is the main reason we use them exensively. I would suggest contacting a company called "Totally Stainless". They offer bollt kits for many vehicles, including all years of Mustangs. they offer them in many configurations including indented head and in a black oxide finish. If you want to polish the bolts (or buy them polished), the finish is as good as chorme, but won't chip etc. Because we aren't trying for concourse correct, I use them extensively in all of the cars I'm doing. Totally Stainless does offer high strength SS bolts for suspension purposes. It should be noted that SS fasteners are not graded as "3" , "5" or "8".

 

[66 Restomod]

I dropped off a box of bead blasted parts (including original hardware) at a place here in Raleigh, NC called Surtronics. I had them zinc plated with a clear chromate (so they ended up shiny silver) but they offer black too and other colors. It cost $110 but would only be $55 for just hardware (I had hood hinges and some other larger items). They offer cad plating and much more. If your hardware is original but just old looking I'd go this route or similar.

Here's the info:
http://www.surtronics.com/zinc.htm

Here's a pic of what I got back:
http://bp1.blogger.com/_Y9h3w67WmH0/R2SOh1M4BbI/AAAAAAAAADo/lGrn9QB4sfE/s1600-h/bling.jpg