The purpose of this Blog

This blog is to detail my 50 years (1973 - 2023) with a 1928 Chevrolet tourer, affectionately called "The Red Chev".

The acquisition, restoration, improvements and my experiences over the years are covered in as much detail as I can remember.

Some of the later postings include car club outings and other vintage car items that I hope will be of interest to people.

If you have the time, scroll back to where it all began in 1973 and follow the journey so far.

Thanks for dropping by.

Regards Ray Dean

See my new section "The Red Chev - Repairs, Improvements, Maintenance and Technical Details" located on the left hand side of the screen.




Pages

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Cooling System Bolts - What looks good on the outside may not be so well on the inside.

The following is a 1928 Chev head water inlet / thermostat housing



The following is what the 2 retaining bolts should look like



2 bolts were recently removed from Matilda the 1928 Chev during a working bee with Terry Petridis, and the other 2 bolts were taken from an 1928 engine picked up recently for spares.



Both sets of bolts are extremely corroded, and could have quit easily snapped in the process of removal. Compare them to a new bolt.





After seeing these plus a similar set of bolts on the Red Chev when I pulled the housing off during the pre wedding restoration 1997, only 24 years after a full restoration, the  moral of the story is

"Check your bolts, as just because there are no leaks does not mean all is well"

 
These days I try and use stainless steel bolts or at least a plated bolt
 

 

 

 

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2 comments:

  1. AnonymousJuly 16, 2014 at 3:25 PM

    HI,
    Do you know what size these new bolts are as mine are not so good? Great looking car and I hope mine turns out as nice as yours.
    Thanks
    Neil

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ray DeanJuly 17, 2014 at 5:07 AM

      Hi Neil,

      They are 2 3/4 inch long 7/16th UNC.

      I hope this helps

      Cheers

      Ray

      Delete

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