Nuts and Bolts What to do?

[bstrudg]

I have a 73 project I took on and I can't seem to figure out what I am going to do about the hardware. When I got the car it came with a bucket of rusty bolts that I have sorted through and cleaned up. I am not sure I want to try to figure out where they go or if I should order all new hardware. Is it possible to order them all togeteher? Mostly for all the front and rear suspenson right now.

[hls30.com]

Admittedly the microfische parts diagrams are difficult to make out useable details, search car-parts.com for a front/rear suspension component near you in a pick and pull, and photograph and strip its bolts-and use the best of what you have...

Edited January 5, 2013 by hls30.com

[timsz]

MMS&accesories from Georgia 800 441-9451 sells stainless kits. Packaged and labeled.

[newtonhubcap]

Stainless steel is pretty but is considered soft compared most auto-grade bolts. I would do more checking on the use of stainless bolts. Maybe they are SS bolts now that are the same strength.

[geezer]

The stainless hardware kit from MMS does not include much of anything for fastening front and rear suspension parts. I think the reason for this is in part to protect themselves from liability issues that could arise, as well as the increased cost that would be associated with supplying these pieces. Other than that, it is a very good kit for someone not too concerned with keeping completely original appearances for the entire rest of the car. Very convenient.

Bring a list with the correct part numbers of the hardware needed to your local dealer first, if you can't get by with your cleaned up stuff. Then you will will have to check with aftermarket suppliers, some of whom sell in kit form.

I take an interest in this subject because myself and a local Z buddy/guru have actually undertaken the task to compile a complete list of every fastener on a series 1 Z. We methodically went through the parts catalogs and the microfiche and identified the fasteners, then located the actual physical pieces and measured them and have cataloged the results. But unfortunately thats as far as the project has progressed so far. We don't have anything to sell.

Edited January 5, 2013 by geezer

[darom]

I found an Excel spreadsheet on this forum which listed suspension bolt/nut combos + pictures. I stripped the images due to the size of the attachment. I ordered all metric parts from an online vendor (with the exception of some bolts) for my 280z. I thank the person who complied this list.

With best regards!

240z_hardware.xls

[Hardway]

I ordered all new bolts from Fastenal when I rebuilt my front suspension. Decided to go with grade 10.9 and yellow zinc on everything. I have a thread detective that I used to measure all the bolts. If you are need the dimensions of something specific just let me know as I still have my notebook with all the info.

[hls30.com]

Mperdue had made a list of the fasteners at one time...I don't remember if it was a spreadsheet or not, but he bought them from Chloe before her disappearance..anyone ever find out what happened to her?

[JLPurcell]

The problem with aftermarket bolts is that they do not match the original bolts in regard to the head size. Where the original bolt heads are even sized metric heads (8mm, 10mm, 12mm, etc...) most metric bolt heads are odd (11mm, 13mm, 15mm, etc...) if that matters to you. I just finished wire brushing a complete set of bolts, washers, screws etc... and took them to a plater and had them yellow zinc plated and will pick them up tomorrow and drop off parts ready for clear zinc plate. They turned out nice. I should have posted pics of the process but was in a hurry to get as many parts ready as possible. The prep work is tedious but well worth the final outcome. Not only was the wire brushing difficult but all washers and small parts had to be loosely wired in a daisy chain fashion with fine gauge wire prior to plating.

[LeonV]

The problem with aftermarket bolts is that they do not match the original bolts in regard to the head size. Where the original bolt heads are even sized metric heads (8mm, 10mm, 12mm, etc...) most metric bolt heads are odd (11mm, 13mm, 15mm, etc...) if that matters to you. I just finished wire brushing a complete set of bolts, washers, screws etc... and took them to a plater and had them yellow zinc plated and will pick them up tomorrow and drop off parts ready for clear zinc plate. They turned out nice. I should have posted pics of the process but was in a hurry to get as many parts ready as possible. The prep work is tedious but well worth the final outcome. Not only was the wire brushing difficult but all washers and small parts had to be loosely wired in a daisy chain fashion with fine gauge wire prior to plating.

That must be because you bought DIN spec bolts. JIS bolts will have the same hex head size as the original.

[hls30.com]

and sometimes they even have the right finish as bought!

[JLPurcell]

That must be because you bought DIN spec bolts. JIS bolts will have the same hex head size as the original.

Thanks for the information. I looked into the stainless package for my car. I forget who was offering them but when I inquired about the head size they were not spec. I should not have assumed that to be the rule. Once again that is what I like about this site it's members hold a wealth of information.