55.2-59 Stainless cab & frontend bolt kits

[izonme13]

Looking at buying a kit. Eithers brothers truck CCBKBUT-59 or Ecklers 61-131606-1. Anyone used one of these kits? Want to order ASAP and get some sheetmetal fitment going. Thanks guys!

[mr48chev]

if the price Brothers shows it is a pretty good price according to what the filling station wants for a SS button head set

https://store.fillingstation.com/sho...&searchtype=FT

I'd go with Brothers But confirm that they did have them on the shelf.

[dsraven]

there are different qualities of stainless due to different alloys. some alloys will show rust spots after awhile. sme alloys are magnetic and some are not. maybe check what alloy you will be getting or research what you need. I am thinking most of the cheaper sets are also the cheaper alloy. I have used stainless fasteners on my boat and notice they gall easily so the threads need to be lubed prior to assembly and using an air tool will likely cause the fastener to gall even if lubed. a nylock nut is recommended over loctite as stainless doesn't like the normal blue loctite. a loctite rep advised to use the high strength blue instead if a nylock can't be used. supposedly a stainless fastener is roughly as strong as a grade 5 regular bolt. I know from experience that they twist off easier than a regular bolt does. they also may need a nylon washer under them depending on what surface they are bearing against as galvanic corrosion can happen with dissimilar metals. I am going to replace my fasteners but plan to paint them so the new stuff will likely come from a local fastener supply house, which could also supply stainless should you like to check your area, take a sample with you for reference
there is a bit of info on the net about the different grades and how they stand up to different environments. this site has some good info but I was unable to copy and paste the link so I just wrote it out here. some good do's and don'ts.
anzor.com.au/technical/stainless-steel-overview/the-dos-and-donts-of-stainless-steel-fasteners1

[dsraven]

also check the torque required for the bolt before you install so you don't overdo it and twist the head off or strip the alen head socket hole out. been there, done that.

[jweb]

I have used a few of the Totally Stainless kits and they were nice.
http://shop.totallystainless.com/pro...vrolet&b=Truck

I bought the last one form Matt's Classic Bowties, they are a vendor on this forum and had the best price. Just call them or send an email with the part# you need.

https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...d.php?t=642579

[mr48chev]

I forgot about Totally Stainless, they were one of the first to offer up stainless bolt kits. I can't get their site to open on my slow internet though.

[mick53]

I bought a polished stainless kit that has every bolt and screw for the entire cab, dog house and bed. Everything except the engine and chassis. I can look who it came from if anyone wants to know.

[MiraclePieCo]

I've sure had bad experiences with stainless galling. I'll never use it again.

[dsraven]

galling is really common and the reason why most fastener suppliers will recommend hand tools only, no quick driver tools like an impact or drill etc as they spin too fast and vreate heat/galling. lube the threads and use nylock nuts. they gall or twist off if over torqued. in/lbs for stainless, ft/lbs for regular bolts. didn't do the math to compare but I know from experience that stainless twists off easily. buy extra bolts for sure and use the torque wrench. I used stainless for the brackets I fabbed on my road bike foot pegs, the bolts broke off while riding later and I could have lost the pegs (but didn't) good thing nobody had used them yet. my harley buddy lost his footpegs while riding in front of me, nearly got me in the beak as they flew past. again, stainless bolts broken from fatigue possibly as these bikes vibrate a lot.

[dsraven]

maybe thats why a lot of supply places sell the kits with the alen head socket drive, so the socket drive strips before the fastener galls?

[mick53]

I use stainless pretty much everywhere. We also use stainless on the dry ice manufacturing plants I build. You have to use antiseize on everything. According to Loctite their blue and red also work as antiseize. Antiseize comes in different temperature ranges so chose accordingly. I also use it on steel. I also feel it's good to use on spark plugs. Loctite has antiseize in stick form now that is way easier to use. Thank you for your time.

[izonme13]

Totally Stainless would be great, however just getting off the phone with them. They are 3-4 months out on getting a kit right now. Bummer, Ecklers is about the same as well. Guess Ill be ordering the Brothers kit for this truck. Maybe order a kit from Totally Stainless for the other truck. Thanks guys for the info!

[mick53]

I bought my kit from https://www.luttyschevy.com/ 3 or 4 years ago when I started my truck. I think it came in different head styles and I was originally going to buy the regular steel and then, why not get stainless. As long as I was getting stainless might as well get them polished. Thank God they didn't have titanium. What I like is the completeness of the kit. All the little screws in the window trim, sill plate or glove box. For me I always get something pretty close or use the old ones that are alright. To have the entire truck labeled and packed is worth a lot to me. Sorry to ramble. Thank you for your time.

[mr48chev]

The gas saving in going and chasing down a few fasteners at a time as you needed them probably paid back the original price of the kit by now.

I've lost track of how many trips to Ideal lumber the local ACE dealer I have made for a hand full of fasteners for a project or the 16 miles to Fastenal to get stuff I couldn't find there.

[SFFD103]

I bought the Brothers front end stainless button head kit. It’s really nice but I’m still in the mock up phase so it hasn’t seen the road yet.

[_Ogre]

The kits are a lot more than the cost of the ss bolts. I bought most of my ss from boltdepot.com. boxes of 100 bed bolts vs 60 in the kits were half the price. I still have as bolts to use 15 years later. Shipping will eat you alive, plan ahead