1960 Sheetmetal Assembly Bolts

montego69 · #1 (**permalink**) 03-15-2012, 03:28 PM

All,

While I'm still busy sanding and thinking about color and assembly, I figured this is a good time to ask a few questions.
1) Everything was rusty from baking in the Arizona sun for 50 years. I think the assemby bolts had paint on them... Not sure. What do you guys use for assembly bolts? I'm talking about all the fine-thread bolts that hold the inner/outer fenders, splash apron, etc together on the front end.
I was thinking about painting all the panels and then assembling. After doing some research here, it looks like jamming everything first and then assembly seems to be more popular. In this case, i'd be painting over all the bolts. won't the paint crack around the bolts and washers as it is driven in the future?

Thanks,

Nick in WI

theodore/teddy · #2 (**permalink**) 03-15-2012, 03:41 PM

Nick; I'm in this process also. I agree that the paint might crack around the fasteners if painted over. This is cat that can be skinned many ways, each has its benefits. My paint booth/area is small, it's tight with just the 8' bed in there. So I'm painting everything separate and then assembling, using stainless fasteners.
Post pictures and keep us inform on your progress!

montego69 · #3 (**permalink**) 03-15-2012, 03:45 PM

Teddy,
I've thought about the stainless fastener route as well. They would look sharp. That's what I'm doing on the interior panels- those will be all stainless more than likely.
Not sure what I'll do with door hinges yet. I just might assemble those with regular bolts and paint over them...
Thanks for the response,
Nick