Hello All,
I am to the point of re-assembly on my 312, I have found stainless bolts on ebay for what seem a fair price. In a little research someone suggested using neverseize on the 2 different metals. Is stainless a poor idea?
What do you folks use on your re-builds?
Regards,
Gary

I've used a lot of stainless bolts on a variety of engines. You need to check the grade of the bolt, and the type of stainless. I've seen a lot of big box stainless that was on the edge of the tolerances. Like a 3/8 nut was loose on a 3/8 bolt. A good marine hardware store or a nut and bolt supply house is your best bet. I always use anti-seize.

miker
55 bird, 32 cabrio F code
Kent, WA
Tucson, AZ

I have used stainless bolts and screws on both the engine and the rest of the car.  My 48 Ford has stainless all over.  I only had one problem when a stainless nut and bolt "galled: ( seized).  No problem with dissimiliar metals either.  The 312 in my 54 has mostly stainless bolts (used where torque specs were not critical)  and never had a seizure problem or strength problem.  Water pump, intake, carb, front cover, exhaust manifolds etc have stainless bought from a kit through ebay. 

There are high strength stainless bolts.  One supplier is Totally Stainless


54 Victoria 312;  48 Ford Conv 302, 56 Bird 312
Forever Ford
Midland Park, NJ

ARP have high quality stainless, but overkill for most applications.  Like all of their other hardware, they look great.

Most of my external engine hardware is hardware store grade stainless, which is most likely what the eBay kit is.  Most of it has been used for 14 years and probably about 40000 miles.  I do use anti seize.  I'm always changing things and have not had a problem yet.



Lawrenceville, GA

wast of money use a good grade 8 hardware on critical arias. stanless is not strong enough.grade 8 is strong and flexible. Iuse cat grade 8as the bolt heads are thicker,ther grade 6 flat washers thicker than most. i use grade 8 and grade 8 flats on exhaust manifolds,they stay tight and the thick flats do not cave in as ext.manifold holes are larger except for 1or 2 in each manifold exce
  just my opinion.

As mentioned in the article, large amounts of anodic material probably wont cause corrosion problems. They give an example of the reverse with the aluminium rivets holding stainless parts would cause the rivets to corrode quickly.
Be careful with anti-seize that contains copper, can promote electrolysis with aluminium parts.

You CAN buy grade 8 stainless bolt kits for the 292/312 engines through AlloyBoltz.com  They come in prepackaged bags with names of where the bolts are used on the engine.  You can buy individual kits, or whole engine kits.  They have kits for FE, Y-Block, SBF, BBF.  Joe-JDC

JDC

Thanks Joe have you used these yourself?
Gary

The alloyboltz grade 8 kit is ARP stainless hardware, so I would have no worries about it.  Much more expensive, and for most of the parts they hold to the engine, significant overkill.  They will look much nicer, though so from that perspective, they may be worth it for a show vehicle.


Lawrenceville, GA

I'll admit to having a considerable number of stainless items on my outfit - there aren't a lot of strength related fasteners in / on the engine itself. Rod bolts and head bolts come to mind - back of the crankshaft and so on are no-brainers....... but other engine attachments are mostly "under stressed".

For the higher strength stuff, I've often used parts from "Fastenal" and all in all a good experience. This chart is one they publish on the internet and it is useful. Check the stainless for head marks.
                                 https://www.fastenal.com/content/feds/pdf/Mechanical%20Properties%20of%20Inch%20Fasteners.pdf

Not on the chart are some of the best high strength fasteners I've used on extreme applications - the so-called "Ferry" capscrews with 12 point heads. They fit in the same compact space as the 6 point socket head screws, are made from the same ASTM A-574 material, and they will take a lot more application torque without ruining the driving tools. Fastenal carries many of these parts in stock (I was getting them in 3/4, 1 inch and larger for an excavator transmission) - and you will find them all over your favorite NASCAR machine.     




 
 Steve Metzger       Tucson, Arizona