257

MISCELLANEOUS

Stainless Steel Fasteners. Paul Louden-Brown

you are not sure of the size or type of fastener you

(5644) wrote:

want to replace, you can use a `screw pitch gauge'

AFTER AN EXTENSIVE (and expensive) rebuild some

which costs about £3.50, or send your old fasteners

years ago, I was saddened to see that rust was starting

off to a stainless steel component supplier, who offers

to appear again in some places. The main cause of the

an identification service, some can even offer a 48

problem seemed to be that the old nuts and bolts

hour turn round, but be warned they nearly all insist

were becoming corroded, and in turn, the rust was

you use tie-on labels on each item and clearly mark

spreading to the painted areas of the car's body.

how many you require of each. There is often a

Replacing these with nice new chrome and cadmium

charge made for this service, so first try to identify

plated nuts and bolts is fine, as long as you never plan

the item, using your `screw pitch gauge'. This may all

to do any more work on your car. The chrome will

sound like a lot of hard work, but just think of the

chip off when using hand tools, the threads can be

benefits to the car's looks and life span.

rendered oversize by thick plating, and cadmium or

SOC Spares Ltd now stock a small but ever increasing

zinc plate will rust, usually sooner than later. The

range of stainless steel replacement parts. Different

plating is often a hit or miss affair, the process being

types of stainless steel exhaust systems, heater by-

difficult and highly poisonous with the finished

pass pipes (replacing Triumphs old mild steel

results varying greatly in quality. Using your car even

versions) and even the bracket to join the exhaust

in damp weather, or keeping it in a garage that is not

system to `J' type gearboxes. With many more items

heated, is not the answer because damp air will start

in the planning and production stage, it all looks very

the rusting process off again on any type of plated

promising, maybe one day we can hope for

surface in our climate, you would end up using your

replacement body panels, possibly renaming the car a

car so little that you may as well get rid of it.

Delorean Stag!

We all know the problems caused by rusted-in bolts and

The task of replacement can be eased by ordering the

how difficult and expensive to remove they can be,

commoner sizes of bolts, washers, nuts or nylocs and

sometimes resulting in the replacement of the very

replacing these at normal maintenance times.

part the bolt was attached to, only then, ending up

Leaving the one offs or difficult to get at ones until

replacing the same type of bolt, to start the process all

major repair intervals; draining the radiator,

over again. The constant fight to part old rusted

replacing the alternator or starter motor, or

exhaust systems in order to do even minor

suspension/brake overhauls, etc. Triumph during the

maintenance, is something we all know and dread,

Stag's six-and-half-years production life used various

then to find the thing won't go back together, and

grades of high tensile steel fasteners on the

when it does, it usually leaks! Trying to remove

suspension and drive train. It is now almost

bumpers without removing your fingers or chipping

impossible to correctly identify the lb per ft breaking

the paint is another task that is almost impossible.

strain of these fasteners, as no original data is

Stainless steel is the only answer to combat these

available. They are, however, much stronger than the

problems. A familiar material to everyone, there may

ordinary fasteners used on the rest of the car

even be a piece of it at arm's reach to you now, in the

(excluding the internal components of the engine,

shape of a piece of cutlery, a pair of scissors, or even

gearbox and differential, etc.) If you are in any doubt

the kitchen sink. Have you ever thought how long

as to what type of fastener to use, then only follow the

you have had these items, and the constant heavy

manufacturer's recommendations for replacement

treatment they get. These, along with thousands of

fasteners. Any person contemplating the replacement

other household and consumer goods, are all made

of these items should not do so without any technical

from an inferior grade of steel, to that used in the

information. Stainless fasteners are made from

aircraft, motor racing, food and chemical industries.

grades of steel of far higher quality than their high

Stainless steel fasteners (the trade name for nuts and

tensile counterpart, they hardly deteriorate with age

bolts) are available in a vast selection of different

and do not become brittle in the cold or lose any

types; nuts, nyloc nuts, bolts, washers, jubilee clips,

strength by constant temperature changes, but

self tappers, alien screws, circlips, even the humble

without technical information on the breaking strain

split pin, all of these and more supplied in vast

of the originals, it would be considered unwise to

quantities in all the standard thread sizes, in order to

replace these parts, as the suspension and drive train

keep the unit costs down.

are under tremendous loading at high speeds,

If you decide to use stainless steel fasteners on your

cornering or braking.

Stag, then your biggest problem will be identification

The finish of these fasteners, their soft lasting polished

of the fasteners that require replacement. This is no

gleam never looks out of place under a car's bonnet,

easy task, the Stag uses the UNF (unified fine) and

looking more like the original, before the weather got

the UNC (unified coarse) ranges in a wide variety of

at it. Chrome on the other hand always looks out of

place, the rest of the engine needing enormous

sizes, however both of these ranges, along with

amounts of polishing, plating or replacement parts to

metric are available in hundreds of different sizes. If