'50 chevy 3100

[dsraven]

8 bolts are stronger bolts and you could use them virtually anywhere, depending on the application, but they are also more spendy. if bolting on a fender there is no reason to use a grade 8 bolt. there is a lot of bolts holding the fender on already so the shear number of bolts is mostly to keep the fender aligned properly and stop it from vibrating and/or flexing which would cause the fender to flex. for suspension items, sure, use a grade 8 over a grace 5. manufacturers use lesser grade bolts when they can to keep costs down. no reason why you wouldn't also. a stainless steel bolt is nice looking but is also soft so it will strip out before a gr 5 or 8 bolt. use these for decorative areas or stuff like a front fender under hood area where they are seen but there is also lots of them so the fender is not gonna fall off or shear a bolt off from stress. also, a big thing for bolts in general is to torque them properly. when a bolt is tightened it stretches, that is why they say to replace engine bolts for main bearings and cyl heads especially, the old bolts have already stretched and may break if re-used and stressed again.
here is a couple of links to bolt grades and a quick explanation on the stresses etc. some cap screws (bolts) have a shoulder similar to a built in flat washer under the head of the bolt and act sort of like a flat washer. on these the underside of the hex head doesn't dig into the surface it is butting up against as badly as some of the cheaper bolts without the raised part under the head. measure bolts from under the head to the end of the threaded part, so the shaft length, not including the head of the bolt where the wrench fits. there are bolt gauges available that have holes to tell the size and rulers on the side to measure the length etc. grade 8 bolts usually run tandem with hardened washers and nuts.

http://rtstools.com/are-grade-8-bolt...s-10-9-metric/

this link also has links for torques etc if you scroll down

https://www.fastenermart.com/underst...d-classes.html

[dsraven]

another one on nut matching.

https://www.greensladeandcompany.com...t%20grades.pdf

[Matt_50]

Thanks, the torque info will be helpful. As far as sheet metal goes, I bought a nice little kit to bolt it all together.

It's nice not to have to search for a new socket for every other bolt lol

[Matt_50]

I got a few more grade 8 bolts and swapped out the grade 5s on rear hangers. Got that new to me step bracket installed it. For some reason a PO added some welds to it. Not sure why, wasn't separating from frame and all four rivets were there.

Me and a buddy sanded cab corners some today. Needs a little more work to smooth up where they got welded on.

Lifted and hung rear axle to make sure my parking brake fables had enough slack and bolted bracket on. Also decided to drill a hole for cable to pass through frame instead of going under... lines up good and hope to get cable cut and a new end on soon.

Also got one old upper rear shock mount off, same as step bracket, had couple welds along with the fa Cory rivets to cut. Really wish a PO hadn't cut the tops off.

Lastly, got last three hold downs on fuel line.

[8man]

All good progress. Congrats.

[Matt_50]

I'm not sure about anywhere else but teachers are paid on the last day of the month here and I have my wish list ready!

I have a bunch of small stuff planned and I should be able to reassemble all the sheet metal this month. And thanks to some advice I got here, I plan to run wires in June.

Haven't gotten much done in the last few days, been out of town and it has rained some but I do have rear upper shocks painted and installed.

What is the stock height on these trucks? I know i have some leafs out from a PO but I'm not sure how much of a difference there is.

[Matt_50]

Bunch if goodies came in the mail. Got front shocks on and I plan to get steering shaft together if it doesn't rain tomorrow.

[8man]

Cool.

The only thing you left out of your signature line about Odessa is "nearest shade tree 200 miles east". I heard that when I was out there one time.

[Matt_50]

Ha! I was complaining about that the other day. We went out of town and I said I wanted to see trees all around at home, not just what we plant in our yards.

What natural trees we have are short and more bush than anything.

[joedoh]

getting there matt!

[Matt_50]

Had to move the steering column up for clearance but I got the steering shaft together. It takes longer than you think to get it all set up, cut shaft, dimples drilled, locktight, and tighten everything up.


Also got new fuel pump on. I asked for one on a 1970 pickup at the parts store to get a one line pump. I think what took the longest was cleaning off the gasket. I moved the hard line a tad for a better bend. Rubber lines from pump and tank to hardline done too and connected pump to carb. Except for filler and gas cap... fuel system is done.


Next up... trim inner fender on driver side and get those put on. Install water pump and radiator... when rear tie plates get here next week, rear shocks go on.

[8man]

Good day on the truck.

[Matt_50]

Yea, I feel things have been going smoother lately.. that is except for a tiny spring eye bolt problem I've recently found...

[Matt_50]

Got tie plates in that are made with a shock mount on them. I plan to get those on in a few days.

Today I put a new water pump on and put radiator support in place too. Tomorrow I plan to get radiator and hoses on. I think ill get alternator and power steering pump on too while inner fenders are off. Be easier to get in there.

[Matt_50]

Radiator on and lower hose trimmed. I want to get a thermostat housing that isn't angled off to the side for the top one, but hose is on to keep junk out.

Got passenger inner fender loosely on and got P/S pump on.

Can accessory bracket bolts be grade 5?

I think p/s pump is slightly off from crank pulley... any advice for alignment?

And which hose goes to which port on p/s pump to gearbox?

[MiraclePieCo]

Originally Posted by Matt_50

Radiator on and lower hose trimmed.

Coming together nicely! What lower radiator hose did you use? Looks like it fits perfectly.

[Matt_50]

Gates 21064. I cut it but the bend in it was perfect.

[Matt_50]

The one you mentioned in another thread lol.

[Matt_50]

Productive day today. Trimmed driver inner fender for the power steering lines and steering shaft. Got the front sheet metal on next. I'll need to do some adjustment.

Rear tie plates came and I got the rear shocks on too.

[8man]

Good job, and on Mother's Day.

[Matt_50]

Yea worked out pretty good. We asll did a lot of our stuff yesterday because it's so busy today. Trying to go to supper now would be a nightmare.

[Matt_50]

Got transmission lines hooked up. Borrowed flare tool from my neighbor again to put flares on the the 4 ends and then cut a couple pieces of hose to slip on. Looks good and clears everything.

I used most of the donor lines, cut them and used a couple pieces from a kit from summit to tie it all together.

[Matt_50]

And I cut some hard wood I had laying around and cut up a tires sidewall for the mounting hardware for the bed a couple days ago.

My 5 minutes a day stuff is finally adding up.

[joedoh]

woop woop! nice progress!

[MiraclePieCo]

Originally Posted by Matt_50

The one you mentioned in another thread lol.

Ha ha, thanks - I was just going to double check it against my part numbers but you saved me the trouble!

Looks like you're getting a good fit on that front sheet metal.