Bolts, Bushings and other questions

[Johns 66]

Hi All,

Im redoing my front suspension and a few questions arose...I tried a search but did come up with anything, please forgive the noob questions.

Ook...I have the upper control arm taken apart and cleaned up ready for some epoxy....My question is related to the bushings....Im presuming that the bushing refer to the outside "Nut" that screws onto the shaft...am I correct? The rubber grease holder on the inside ( for lack of not knowing what they are actually called) on mine are pretty much toast. So how do I tell if the bushing( Nut) is bad...Mine seemed tight when I took it off and the shaft moved freely with no play side to side.

Is it a good idea to go ahead and replace the shaft and bushings???/the threads on my shaft are not worn or galled. I cleaned them up today and the nut threads easily on both ends of both shafts.


Now to the bolts....I know that they used grade 8 bolts according to the ones I took off the front suspension. Do these bolts degrade over time? I had to cut one bolt off that was rusted shut but the others came off with an impact...Again I cleaned these up and ran a thread chaser on both the bolts and nuts and they tighten up freely....Again how do I know the bolts are in good shape? How do I tell if they need to be replaced? Do they need to be replaced since they are over 50 years old or am I throwing good money after bad?

I am going back stock but with disc brakes at stock ride height and will be adding sway bars to the truck.


Lastly is a question about plating, specifically cadmium plating of the bolts. As best I can tell from the factory correct threads most of the bolts were a silver looking color or cadmium plated.....How well does cadmium plating last or is it really susceptible to rust? Is cad plating really expensive, do we have vendors on the board who do this? Or do you know someone who does

Does the door striker plates and hood hinges get cadmium plated as well?

I really do not want to buy stainless bolts and I haven't figured out how to paint a bolt and then install a body panel without cracking the paint on the bolt.

If this isn't in the right place Mods please move it to the correct spot.

Any help or information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
John