Clean up rusted body bolts or buy new?

[Erik Beckett]

I am in the middle of tearing a 67 C10 apart to have the body work started. I am not looking for anything original and will turn it into a pro-tour hot rod of some sort. I just have a question regarding all the body, fender, core support bolts. They are all old and crusty, some have black paint and some have orange paint on them. I prefer to have a satin looking engine bay with nice bright zinc plated bolts everywhere for that clean look. Should I bother with these old fender bolts that I have soaking in rust remover or should I just go to the hardware store and buy a much of grade 8 bolts? I think grade 8 are the only bolts that are actual zinc plated.

I welcome any advice and some pics of your engine bay would be amazing.

Thanks, Erik

[andrewb70]

There are companies that make whole car bolt kits, some are available with stainless hardware.

Andrew

[Sinnister69]

I would first try AMK to see if they have a kit for your truck

If not then invest in a small media tumbler and that will strip the bolts clean

Then theres 2 options

1. Shine them up with a fine wire wheel mounted on a bench top grinder

2. Buy a small zinc plating kit

[JustJohn]

I've been buying mine from these guys:
https://www.clipsandfasteners.com/default.asp

They'll have most of what you need.

[Sbeck09]

If they rusted in the first place they will likely do it again without plating everything...if they aren't too pitted anyway. For the money, I always just get new stainless everything. It's so much nicer to assemble the project with fresh, clean hardware while knowing it will keep looking that good. In the grand scheme, it doesn't really add much cost.

Since you like the zinc look so much, yeah getting all new grade 8 hardware will get you there quickly and easily. But know that it's less expensive to make a semi-educated guess at your total quantities and just order it all at once online. Ever since I started doing that with hardware I'm less frustrated about the cost and having a few leftover always benefits the next project.

[stab6902]

I used a lot of the common offshore grade 8 fasteners on my build a few years ago. I noticed that within a year or two they all started looking kind of oxidized and chalky, and this is on a rarely driven fair weather only car. It's not a big deal to me, but something to keep in mind if you're building a show car. I think good quality stainless hardware would stay looking good longer.

I found the cheapest place to buy grade 8 hardware by a mile was Tractor Supply Co. They still sell it by the pound as far as I know. Menard's is probably a close second. I like supporting my local hardware store but they were over double the cost, and it adds up.

I think all the commonly available grade 8 hardware comes from the same place regardless of "brand." Real factory hardware is about as good as it gets (aside from high dollar ARP etc), but it is time consuming to clean up.

[GoodysGotaCuda]

Get fresh coated hardware. It should be extremely easy and cheap for something like a C10.

[anguilla1980]

I just had a large batch of fasteners done in Cerakote Elite Blackout. Couldn't be happier.

[79 Camaro]

Fastenal has a huge selection of bolts. Both SS and mild steel.
I used the black 5/16" washer head bolts for the inner fender, fender bolts and grill. Bought them in bulk (box of 50?) from NAPA.
Other bolts I bought in bulk from Fleet Farm grade 8. They are kind of gold in color. I did not reuse any original bolts from my 68 C10 project.

[130fe]

Buy new.

[showdog75]

I prefer flanged bolts. I like my bolts and hardware to blend in not stick out like a sore thumb. In a pinch Lowe's has a decent selection of body/fender bolts. My wagon's previous owner used whatever would fit in a hole and I've gone to great lengths to make my hardware match and blend in. KISS

[minendrews68]

yeah, buy new. Definately!

[rocketrod]

I just had a large batch of fasteners done in Cerakote Elite Blackout. Couldn't be happier.
X2...I'm getting ready to remove all my stainless fasteners and have them cerakoted

[CSG]

Has everyone had success with stainless fasteners? I have used them in Offroad applications and can’t keep them torqued. I asked a few of the mechanical engineers down the hall and they felt like stainless was a poor choice for fasteners so I have not used any since the .

[anguilla1980]

I'm liberal with the orange lock-tite on most things so I have not noticed it, plus the Cerakote makes the thread tolerances tighter too. But where it would really make a difference, especially safety related, I'd agree SS is not the best. It should be safety wired if used depending on the application.