need help selecting Stage 8 fasteners

Youll want to use the first style, do not be surprised when you have to grind on some of the retaining washers depending on what header you have. They work great I use them often...

8913 is the correct PT, 3/4" will work in any alum or steel head. The 1" are too long for most aftermarket alum heads.

The Percys split lock bolts look good too, I want to try a set of those they get good reviews.

i would do the one with the long lock because it has a 12 point locking piece and it gives u more of a area to install the lock. i just got a motor with them but all the parts are missing.

I'm using the first kind as my header bolts. I couldn't use every one of them, though. Some didn't fit.

i got the top one so far so good they have been holding my longtubes on 2 different motors

Rick 91GT said:

...3/4" will work in any alum or steel head. The 1" are too long for most aftermarket alum heads.

The Percys split lock bolts look good too, I want to try a set of those they get good reviews.

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+1 on the Percy split lock hardware. They've worked great over the years, never have to worry about header leak. AND you can for sure lock every fastener.

I am using the first kind on my 93 and 88. Like Rick said I had to modify some of the locking plates to clear the primary tubes. They work great.

Get some 3/8" x 7/8" coarse thread stainless steel Allen bolts, some .032 aviation safety wire and a #55 or 3/64" cobalt drill bit. The Allen head bolts will clear any header setup and with a little imagnation, you can even get at them with a torque wrench to tighten them properly. The aviation safety wire is also stainless steel, and will take any heat or corrosion that comes along and never weaken or corrode.

Drill the bolt heads for the safety wire and then use the safety wire to secure the bolts as shown in the drawing.





When properly done, the wire will pull the bolts tighter and not allow them to loosen. It's less expensive than the fancy locking bolts and works just as good. Some safety wire twister pliers make it a simple job. I think it adds some zing to the appearance of the job.

jrichker said:

Get some 3/8" x 7/8" coarse thread stainless steel Allen bolts, some .032 aviation safety wire and a #55 or 3/64" cobalt drill bit. The Allen head bolts will clear any header setup and with a little imagnation, you can even get at them with a torque wrench to tighten them properly. The aviation safety wire is also stainless steel, and will take any heat or corrosion that comes along and never weaken or corrode.

Drill the bolt heads for the safety wire and then use the safety wire to secure the bolts as shown in the drawing.

When properly done, the wire will pull the bolts tighter and not allow them to loosen. It's less expensive than the fancy locking bolts and works just as good. Some safety wire twister pliers make it a simple job. I think it adds some zing to the appearance of the job.

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Deskin:

This is how we handle almost all critical bolts in aviation. It will certainly be cheaper in the long rung to have the Aviation Safety Wire on hand. It normally runs about $8-$12 per spool and it will last you quite awhile. This is the cheapest I found the .032 Aviation Safety Wire that is of the best quality and it is $9.25 for a 1 lb spool. And fyi standard Stainless wire would be sufficient, there are other more expensive types designed for the high temperatures of a Jet engine.

some one use to sell header bolts pre drilled for safety wire

I candy said:

...I'm running Holley Heads and Ford Racing stainless headers. Getting the engine put together right now and hope they get done in couple months.

Right now i have problems with my current engine and headers. Hard time fitting the socket over the bolt and then having some of them come loose.

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When I replaced the headers with the Ford ones, I got the Mr. Gasket CopperSeal gasket which came with lock washers. Then used stainless steel socket head bolts, tightened once & never needed it again. Not sure if reason is the gasket, lock washers or the SS bolts; maybe all three? Get the CopperSEALS & you won't need the Stage8's.

Maybe I just crank my header bolts too tight, but I've never had any real issues with them loosening.

And are we being serious about the aviation wire?

btw im running dead soft aluminum gaskets and they havent given me issues with them coming loose like the old felpro gaskets did.

on the race car we use black RTV and the bolts usually get some on the threads and we never loose them

NikwoaC said:

Maybe I just crank my header bolts too tight, but I've never had any real issues with them loosening.

And are we being serious about the aviation wire?

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Ive never done the saftey wire on my header bolts but Ive done them on brakes, and other items...

Ive had combos where the bolts do seem to loosen up, never really figured out why.. I clean the threads real good and usually but a little anti seize on them, tq them done tight!

Rick 91GT said:

Ive never done the saftey wire on my header bolts but Ive done them on brakes, and other items...

Ive had combos where the bolts do seem to loosen up, never really figured out why.. I clean the threads real good and usually but a little anti seize on them, tq them done tight!

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I can definitely understand using it on suspension/brake components, especially on components that don't get assembled/disassembled frequently. Doing it on header bolts , though, seems unnecessary or at least PAINFULLY monotonous, haha.

jrichker said:

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Way old thread, but I've gotta ask: Is this a joke, or something you really recommend? I can only imagine how tedious and ridiculous this would be to do with an engine on a stand, but in the car? Really?

Doing the actual wire would be a whip... it'd be nothing compared to actually trying to cross drill all those bolts. Start with about a dozen .035 drill bits and a drill press...

wythors said:

Way old thread, but I've gotta ask: Is this a joke, or something you really recommend? I can only imagine how tedious and ridiculous this would be to do with an engine on a stand, but in the car? Really?

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In the days of my youth I was an aircraft mechanic, so I still do some things that way. The bolt heads were drilled with a #52 colbalt drill bit (about .040) using a drill press and lots of WD40 to cool the bit. The head is drilled with the holes in a cross pattern at 90 degree angles to each other.

I bought a 5/16" Bondhus Balldriver Allen wrench, it works like a universal joint. You can tighten up the Allen head bolts at 15-20 degrees off center angle and still get everything tight. Cut the "L" part off the wrench with a cutoff wheel and stuck the straight part in a Allen socket. This works great, cause the Allen heads are smaller than even the 12 point bolt heads, and with my fancy tool I can tighten them up with a torque wrench.

Torque the bolts down and pull off about 12" of .032 stainless steel safety wire. Thread the wire through 2 holes, or just one if the other one is blocked by the header pipe. Pull the wire through until the ends are even. Twist up about 2" with your handy-dandy safety wire twister pliers, making sure that the wire pulls the bolt tighter as it routes across the header pipe. Make sure the twist ends at the wire hole in the next bolt, and that it pulls the bolt in the tightening direction. Thread it through and twist up about 3/4"of wire on the other side of the hole and cut it off evenly. Fold it over about midway so that the sharp end doesn't stick you.

Yes, you can do it with the engine in the car. The job is much easier if you don't have a big belly that prevents you from getting up close and personal with the fender. Bending over the fender for extended periods of time is a little hard on the back, so take a stretch and bend break every other bolt.

The safety wire takes about 10-15 minutes a header pipe to do right and make it look good. The driver's side is easy, but you have to remove the mass air & cat air plumbing on the passenger side to have room to work. Total time for both sides is about 1.5- 2 hours and that includes removing & reinstalling the MAF and the cat converter air piping.

Haha, Jesus man, you just made a 20 minute job a 2 hour job. Not to mention the disassembly time!