62-63 Fender bolts?

[Aqua 409]

Would anyone happen to know how or what the original finish was on the the bolts used on the inner fenders, core support, horns and hood hinges etc. on 62-63 Impalas? What ever this finish is, can it be reapplied. Thanks

[SS425HP]

Lordy, you can buy a kit with the original markings and finish for less than you can get some plated or whatever the black finish was. Phil Reed, on here, can lead you down the correct path. The only way to go.

Fred

[bobs409]

If by chance they were black oxide finish, be warned that these rust as fast as bare metal! (at least the ones I bought for my 66 Chevelle did) My car is stored in a garage, never washed, never driven in rain and the wheel well bolt heads are all rusted.

Also, if they are black oxide, you might check Eastwood Company as they sell something like this to refinish bolts.


Of course, if they were not black oxide finish, disreguard everything I just said. :D

[SS425HP]

Bob, mine aren't rusted. I got mine almost 10 years ago. 9 at the most. It is kept in an unheated garage, and it HAS been in the rain. Not intentionaly, but it happened. Believe it or not, the wipers WORKED, also!!!!!! Maybe you got a bad batch. I'm sure there isn't more than one manufacturer of the kits. Not that big a volumn. But, mine are still looking good.

Fred

[real61ss]

It depends on how accurate you want the bolts to be. As Fred said, you can buy a bolt kit but my experence has been that this kit probably won't come close to being the correct bolts. Back when I was restoring my 61's, I bought one of these kits from Late Great and it would have bolted the front end together but it wasn't even close to being correct. The 5/16 bolts that they sent me, the ones that bolt the inner fenders and the radiator support etc. had a flat washer on them, the factory bolts didn't have washers, they had a spread head that acted as a washer. I didn't use it. I used my original bolts, wire brushed, then buffed them and coated them with a low gloss clear. This is not to say that somebody doesn't sell the correct bolts, but if I was concerned, I would ask if they are correct before I bought them. Just my two cents worth:cheers

[TomO]

realss61 - Check with your local machine tool shop. Typically they will have a product which is comonly refered to as tool black. That give a black finish to most any steel part that it is applied to.
TomO

[Tom Kochtanek]

For what it's worth, I wire brushed those parts that I judged to be black oxide (fender bolts, radiator support bolts, and such) and used the Eastwood product mentioned. You clean, then dip in one solution (a "blackening" solution), then rinse off (filtered water, no chlorine), then immediately dip in their "Sealer" solution. Does a pretty good job. If it doesn't get Black enough in that first dip, just let it in there a bit longer...

I fashioned a sort of "strainer" so I could dip multiple parts in at one time. Otherwise you ge tthe priviledge of attaching some sort of wire/string to each part for dipping. Kinda slows things down....

I haven't had these out as yet, and they sit in little bags, all cataloged, awaiting the completion of the painting of the body parts. Hope this helps some.

Good luck!

TomK

[Aqua 409]

Thank you all for the information on the bolts. It Heads me in the right direction. Another thing that came to mind is, sometime ago I remember reading about 2 or 3 people who worked in a Chevrolet Assembly plant got together and published a book on car assembly that had things like the different paint markings, inspection stamps and markings, also the different hardware used. Does anyone know about this or is there a guide that judges use when judging a car.

Thanks Ralph