Hi All,

Is there a reference guide floating around out there to help folks like me with bolt inventory? I'm assembling all types of components on my 65 F-250 and playing the shop, hit, miss and shop game is seriously time consuming. For example, when it comes time to put my front end together(fenders, inner fenders, radiator support, grill, etc.), what are all the factory bolt sizes/quantities required? If there was a list somewhere that would be amazing!

-Ben

 

The bolt sizes, finishes and required quantities can be found in the MPC. Some are downright easy to find while others can take a bit of doing. Here's an example of how it can be determined.


First you find the detail of something like the front fenders. You can then take a sample bolt like the ones I've circled labeled below

353483-S

Then from there you go to the text portion and find the front fenders and below them is the hardware. Again you see 353483-S but this time it has a 2 on the end. -S2. That's the actual finish of the particular hardware.


It's 5/16"-24 x 1.12" and the -S2 means black phosphate from this legend here. (it's in the MPC, too, but I'd have to find it)


Ford Part Numbers - Hardware and Utility Parts - FORDification.com


I hope that helps a little. I'm gradually digging out the info but it's not always so straight-forward as this example.


.

 

Try these folks. They show a under hood kit for a 1961 (FO111) which should be close. They also have all types of fasteners. Mr. G's Enterprises - Auto Fasteners

 

Thanks guys! Much appreciated :-)

 

You got me interested in the bolts and stuff to reinstall the front clip. Even though I'm months away from needing them. I talked to Mr. Garrison at Mr. G's and he sent me the kit he had for a 1961 and I have been comparing it to the three 65's I have. One of which is an unmolested but very rusty F250 Camper Special. There is a great deal of difference between the 1961 an the 1965's. One thing for sure is the only fine thread (5/16-24) fastener I found in all 3 trucks was the fillister head screw behind the headlight trim ring, all the other hardware is coarse thread.
If there is enough interest in a complete front end kit vs. just a dress up kit he should be able to put one together. I'm sure that Ford probably used whatever hardware was on hand when they built these things so there are probably differences from one plant to the next. And there is no doubt that I missed some things trying to figure out how many of each were used. But he is very accommodating about swapping out hardware that you don't feel is correct for your project.
I will try to post some sort of list of the hardware I have now in a few days.
If anyone is interested let me know or contact him directly. The 61 kit was around $157 with the shipping. Don't know what a 65 will end up at. A simple dress up kit would be a lot less.

 

What I do is any time I find a truck being parted I try to grab as many fasteners as I can. I've seen people take fenders but leave all the bolts, nuts, washers and other fasteners scattered around. I've even bought a bag of used hardware from Don. Then I send them out to get refinished in chrome, black phosphate, silver cadmium, etc. as applicable.


Here's a 274 page book that AMK published in 1997 that covers 1955-1973 Ford fasteners. If I go to page 41, for example, there I find part number 353483-S under the 5/16"-24 section. They list is as 1 1/8" long which is 1.125 - sounds correct. The O.D. of the head (captured washer) is 11/16". And they show a picture of a representative bolt. I do not know if they still offer this book for sale or not. I use it as a double-check.

 

wow i just googled this book and its still available for $30 through AMK, think i might get one, thanks for posting it

 

Do they sell the MPC in a hard copy or subscription? I do not have a CD drive on my Mac so buying the disc will not work for me. I think it would be valuable to have to find all these broken fasteners

 

This is great information . I am facing some of the same challenges . Appreciate the decoding , and source info . Thank you

 

The only hard copies I've seen are the original Ford publications. They are huge with the one volume having over 4,000 pages.

I've been told that not all of these links work, but it is one possibility.

Diagrams - Charp Industries

Another would be to buy an inexpensive external USB or Firewire CD drive. Might only be able to find a DVD drive these days but most can also read a CD. I like the PDF format. It's possible to remove the password protection and then you can edit the PDF. I made mine searchable and then in a copy of the PDF I whittled it down to mostly F100/250/350 so got rid of the pages and pages of engines, axles, etc, that only apply to the large trucks. If I need a hard copy of one or two pages for something I can always print them, too.

 

Wow, that sounds great, I had not thought of the USB, Ill see if I can figure out the protection so they are searchable. That link you provided had gobs of info, most of it not relevant to my 65 F250 4x4. Thank you

 

I have 2 1966 F250 4x4s and it does take some work to track down all the numbers and then find the hardware. I like the hunt myself. I've taken pictures of many of the parts which can sometimes help others with a visual. Here's an example of a part unique to the 4x4 trucks. The lower end of the transfer case shift lever pivots on these special shoulder bolts with a helix groove cut into them.

 

Wow I needed that this in the Summer when I put my 66cc back together. Some of the bolts and clips were unique to their application. I took my truck apart slow and labeled and organized the bolts carefully. A couple of spots on the front end that need exact fits were the grill bolts which are shorter ¾- 5/16 course plus they have a gripping sheet metal washer that I do not know the name of. On the front fender, there were 2 caged nuts on the inside of the fender that need to be correct also to get the bolts from inside to the fender. The top and bottom are different; the bottom cage needs to longer by about a ½ inch so it can slip into place. They are both 5/16 course.

If you want to be very accurate, the factory bolts for the fenders on top where embossed with SEM on the bolt head and nut had a large flange on the nut to work for a washer.

If you need a pic for the inside fender bottom cage nut, I have a broken one on my bench.

steve