Replacing Bolts on Classic Muscle Cars
Mark OjaDescription
Because classic muscle cars are usually older, their owners typically have to replace bolts more often than those of modern cars. Mark Oja teaches you two ways to do so, with one being more costly than the other. Once you determine that the bolts you removed are correct, Mark suggests buying a complete bolt replacement kit rather than spending money to have the old ones stripped, re-plated, and reinstalled.
When restoring your muscle car, one item that needs to be addressed is bolts. Here, we have a typical bolt off of a muscle car that's rusty. Beside it, we have one that I've sandblasted. Now, the issue with this is that you need to first determine whether or not the bolts that you've removed from your car are correct. That can be done via the internet and through books such as this.
So once you've determined they're correct, you have a bunch of different options. You can send them out and have them plated, but it's typically very expensive, approximately five times as the cost of purchasing a new bolt, or you can buy a complete bolt kit like this that gives you all the correct finishes and actually labels each bolt and tells you where it goes. So when you're restoring your muscle car, you have a number of options. You can buy the complete bolt replacement kit, or if you're sure that you have the correct bolts for your car, you can have them stripped and replated and reinstalled.
Where are books or websites that list all the vehicle’s bolts?
Another way to dilute the strength of acid in the first instance. Simply given because even if you mix the two liquids together in the correct order Phosphoric acid always acid to water just how would you tell the acid is neutralised. Putting your finger in the solution is not a good option. So how do you neutralize the Phosphoric acid? Well Good old sodium bicarbonate or its weaker brother Baking powder will do a very effective job but remember when mixing the two components there will be a violent reaction fizzing and carbon dioxide gas will be given of so not in an enclosed place Start with a small amount of the selected powder and add from a suitable distance DO NOT STAND OVER CONTAINER. And wear suitable protective clothing as you should do when dealing with any acid. Do not take any risks it is as simple as that. When the reaction stops add more powder when you get no reaction the acid is neutralised. You can then add the solution to water to further dilute it. Dispose of the diluted solution inline with your local disposal of dangerous chemical regulations Job done.
Another option for rusted bolts is to immerse them in Phosphoric acid for around 8 hours, then rinse with HOT water. This removes the rust without removing metal, and replaces that Iron Oxide layer with an Iron Phosphate layer which is rust proof in and of itself. This preserves the integrity of the threads and the head and provides a layer of rust resistant coating. Phosphoric Acid can be sourced at any hardware store. just be sure to properly neutralize the acid when disposing of it (always add acid to water, not water to the acid or it will generate heat).
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