allen headed bolts, mufflers and more?

[goatdude]

I am trying to help out a couple kids who's dad passed away by finishing up his t-bucket and getting it sold for them. My own experience is in restoring/restomodding muscle cars (GTOs Chevelles etc) but never anything with street rod or t-buckets. Needs several things but for starters I need to quiet this down as it is VERY LOUD and find a 3/8-16 x 2.5" allen head cap screw for the alternator bracket. Don't know a whole lot about the motor but it is supposed to have the bottom end from Dick Trickles stock car. It's also has Edelbrock Team G heads that has been worked, tunnel ram and two small Holleys. Sounds like a lot of compression and big cam. Again, I don't know details of engine assembly. Exhaust is extensions with 10" long inserts.

Overall it looks like the guy paid a lot of attention to detail as everything is routed nice, A-N fittings, clean electrical work etc. I would appreciate any feedback. Thanks

 

[Mike]

Welcome to the T-Bucket Forums!

You didn't mention what type of header the car has on it, but I'm sure Spirit Industries will be able to help you with whatever you need.

As for the socket-head cap screw, any hardware store should have that on hand. Industrial hardware supplies will also be a good place to look.

 

[goatdude]

Thanks. Looks like the chrome small block Chevy classic roadster headers.

Welcome to the T-Bucket Forums!

You didn't mention what type of header the car has on it, but I'm sure Spirit Industries will be able to help you with whatever you need.

As for the socket-head cap screw, any hardware store should have that on hand. Industrial hardware supplies will also be a good place to look.

 

[goatdude]

Installed some grade 8 socket head bolts for now until I can locate the dress-up kind. Maybe I'll just leave these as one of the stainless bolts broke.

 

[putz]

Installed some grade 8 socket head bolts for now until I can locate the dress-up kind. Maybe I'll just leave these as one of the stainless bolts broke.

We really like pics of buckets. We can also give tips if something isn't going to work quite right. These cars look simple but can have problems that take some doing to figure out.

 

[goatdude]

Edit: I didn't look carefully at the heads and what looked like an "Edelbrock" from a few feet away (and failing vision) in a script font was in fact Brownfield with a "B" logo. Stamped on the end of the head is "comp spec #387". Brownfield eventually merged into AFR in the mid 80's so finding out anything about these heads like air flow or combustion chamber volume will be a little tricky.

 

[Youngster]

Befpre using SS fasteners, check out their grade. You might be surprised as to the grade.

Ron

 

[goatdude]

Thanks. I think I'll keep the black grade 8 then. I found this info:




What About Stainless?

Replacing the OEM-plated steel fasteners on the outside of the bike provides a good-looking, low maintenance cure for rusted nuts and bolts. When contemplating replacing OEM fasteners with stainless steel, remember that common stainless steel does not have the strength of common alloy steels and should not be used for critical, highly stressed applications. The stainless steel also has higher friction than steel does which gives less preload at the same torque. When in doubt, keep the OEM steel stuff for critical applications.


And this:


2. Stainless steel bolts are stronger than ordinary steel bolts
This is clearly not true for the majority of stainless steel bolts. Stainless steel in general has very little carbon, and because of that, most grades of stainless steel cannot be hardened by heat treatment. Stainless steel bolts are, in most cases, just slightly stronger than Grade 2 hardware store junk bolts, and in nearly all cases, significantly less than Grade 5. You do NOT want to use common-grade stainless fasteners in any application that would call for a hardened (Grade 5 or Grade 8, or stronger) fastener. ARP makes a fine line of stainless bolts that have a tensile strength of approximately 170,000 lbs per square inch. This is greater tensile strength than a typical Grade 8 fastener, but keep in mind that tensile strength is not the only measure of bolt quality/strength. Common grades of stainless steel may have reasonable tensile strength, but significantly less yield strength than a "regular" steel bolt--the stainless bolts are more "stretchy". Those ARP-made bolts are the ONLY stainless fasteners I'm aware of that are suitable for general use. There may be others--if you know of any, please let me know!




There may be some other areas that I may replace the SS socket head bolts with regular steel, like motor mounts and critical suspension points. Looks like the SS is fine for intake manifold or other low stress applications.




Ron

 

[EX JUNK]

I think that you should check TOTALLY STAINLESS INC. They have grade 8 stainless. I have used them on both my builds with great success. They are an excellent source of info and product along with being an excellent company to deal with. Their phone number is: 1-800-767-4781. Give them a call and ask them some questions.

Jim

 

[goatdude]

Thanks Jim

Ron

 

[Mike]

Ron, I was checking out your photos and it's looking good.

A suggestion, if I may - you might consider turning the shields on those valve cover breathers to face front. That will shield the filters from any trash getting thrown at them from the front and keep them a bit cleaner. The air flow around the shield *might* also provide a bit of a low pressure area, to help the breathers a bit. Be sure the tubes are baffled correctly, just in case.