Bolts

[rboltz]

Normally I would try to restore to as perfect to stock as possible. I am taking my 1953 truck apart and many of the rusted and corroded bolts I have found are like in the picture, recessed heads. Are these the original? They are not available anymore so regular hex heads will have to be used.

 

[TGP (IL)]

Yes those are orginals, and very hard to find.
You can contact Charles at M series Rebuild.
He rebuilds a lot of trucks and offers up buckets of Good used bolts for sale at a decent price.
I know he just got rid of some on the Dodge site.
Check and see if he has more.

Click this Link

M-Series Rebuild LLC, CUMMINS DIESEL engine for DODGE M37, M37B1, M43,V41, M56 military trucks, civilian power wagon, B1pw, B3pw, C3series, B3 series.

Tom

 

[WarrenD]

Try Bob Stahl at Veteran Vehicles. No net, phone only. I got a bunch of spares from him on my last visit. 508-three-eight-four-769-eight.

 

[hndrsonj]

Midwest military also had them.

 

[A/C Cages]

Saturn Surplus in Orlando FL had those last week next to the stainless steel screw bins in isle 2.

There were about 3 or 4 sizes there.
If they dont have them now, wait a week and they might have them again. Thats how they are.

 

[Elwood1968]

Totally Stainless (Totally Stainless) has these bolts in stainless, for those who don't want to fight with rusted threads. Not cheap, of course.

 

[Bill W]

In case you find the bolts without the washers
Snake River 4 x 4 carries the square washers Snake River 4X4

 

[rboltz]

Totally Stainless (Totally Stainless) has these bolts in stainless, for those who don't want to fight with rusted threads. Not cheap, of course.

Not going stainless. My current thinking is to salvage what I can and the rest will be regular hex head cap screws or bolts. I doubt it makes much difference these days if I use the recessed head bolts or regular bolts as far as "stock" goes.

 

[Oddball-CmK]

Are you sure? I have some original take-offs in useable condition... I'll post pictures shortly...

Edit: I have a carton of Misc. M-37 T/O bolts.. included are these type (like the ones pictured).. all look useable with a little cleaning.. but we're all used to that.

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If you're interested I'd sell them, as I no longer have an M-37

 

[Mike_L]

Nice set of bolts. I've noticed on my 3/8in "indented hex head" bolts (most from my bed), some heads have an S with about 4 concentric circles around it and some have a NL (the L centered on and extending down below the N) with a couple concentric circles around them. They all have the square washer integrated with some washers large and others barely wider than the bolt head. I thought I kept a good record of where what came from but when I reassembled my truck bed, I ran short of some pieces (had to cut a few bolts out) and swapped a few pieces out to make matched sets in certain areas/panels.

Would there be two different bolt manufacturers used in the assy line simultaneously during a run of vehicles? Or, could they have used all S marked bolts and the next month's supply of bolts may be the NL marked bolts? Anyone else notice a mix of bolt markings on their trucks or do they tend to be all the same?

I've had pretty good luck stripping the bolts down (sand blasting, paint stripper, or wire wheel) and painting them. Sand blasting seems to work best with these "indented" bolts with logos. I buy them when I see them at the MV shows if they are in good conditions (20 layers of paint vs. severely rusted/worn).

 

[98taco3]

McMaster-Carr is worth a shot. They did have the washers in stock last time i checked. Good bet on the hardware as well.

 

[rboltz]

Are you sure? I have some original take-offs in useable condition... I'll post pictures shortly...

I guess mine aren't as bad as they could be. I only have a few that are severly rusted. I was really surprised yesterday when I removed the rear bumpers. I figured those 5/8" NF bolts would be impossible to remove but all came out without much trouble. There was even plating remaining under the paint and under the nuts.

 

[rboltz]

Thanks

In case you find the bolts without the washers
Snake River 4 x 4 carries the square washers Snake River 4X4

Good to know. I have a bag on new ones but not sure how many of each size or what I will need. I'll reuse what isn't rusted by cleaning and painting.

 

[WarrenD]

There's a lot of metal in these trucks. Many of my bolts that came off got run thru my bench mounted wire wheel and were fine for re-use. I'm taliking body stuff here, driveline is different, new companion flange bolts are a must!

 

[Bill W]

I stripped my parts truck of as many Dodge bolts as I thought I needed to complete my 37, 13 years later I still have all these left overs

 

[rboltz]

More on The Findings

As I continue to dissamble the truck, it again surprises me to find the length of many fastners to be odd sizes. Lots of 7/8" long and 1-1/8" and the list goes on. The ones I removed could have been 1/8" longer without any problem and be a standard length. I worked in the fastener industry for nearly 20 years and those lengths, in NF and grade 8, would have been specials and had a premium cost. Of course, when the government does something, cost is no object. I remember government inspectors on-site inspecting the finished products back in the 60's and 70's. If they found anything wrong with a container, and we are talking thousands of bolts, the entire container got tossed. And, they paid for it.

 

[Bill W]

I noticed that the bolts are in 1/4" lenghs (ie 1 1/4" 1 3/4" ) where as the standard at the stores come in 1/2" lenghs ( 1' 1 1/2" 2")

 

[rboltz]

I noticed that the bolts are in 1/4" lenghs (ie 1 1/4" 1 3/4" ) where as the standard at the stores come in 1/2" lenghs ( 1' 1 1/2" 2")

Maybe on your trucks, but not on mine. Mine are in 1/8" increments. You measure bolts as "length under the head" and the ones I have measured used my length guage, as used at the boltmaker machine.

You can get bolts in 1/4" increments at many Ace Hardware stores but not always in NF.

 

[WarrenD]

The bolts you are taking out might not be the correct ones for the application, either. Who knows who took them out and what they replaced it with? Take all the bolts out, toss in pile. maybe the right ones go back where they should, maybe not. Just sayin'

 

[maddawg308]

Worst case scenario, if you want the old bolt head style, but new bolt (if your old bolt threads are rusted off) cut off the old heads and weld them onto the new bolt shaft.