[flatsixcrazy]

Hey guys ans gals,
I am thinking about freshening up my under carriage (the car's, not myself) and looking to order a few replacment bolts for my fromt a-arms and rear torsion plate. I've looked at McMaster Carr's cat and wondering what is the grading system they have and what grade sould I purchase?. I know that metalurgy is very important in the selection of hardwares. Also, I like the Cadnium (carcinogen) plated hardware and it seems that McMaster Carr only carries them in standard and zin plated in metric. Are ther any other sources for cad plated metric hardware?. Thanks. Andy

[matt de maria]

Wurth is one supplier. I believe that there is a company in NY called metrics and multi-standards that specializes in fasteners.

[BobNovas]

"Carroll Smith's Nuts, Bolts and Fasteners and Plumbing Handbook" is a fascinating read all about this issue. It's $15 in paperback from Amazon, and well worth reading IMHO. I'm surprised Kurt hasn't said something, as he's a fanatic about nuts & bolts.

[CrewChief]

Matt D'M is the expert and Wurth is indeed the shop source; in my experience a lay person can only access Wurth by hooking up with a shop.

In the small quantities you are looking for it would not be prohibitive to just order from the Porsche dealer. And it is usually the 'good stuff'. Although, sometimes you do get a shock on hardware prices.

[Vicegrip]

Did someone say fasteners? I gots a thing for fasteners.

You can buy entire kits of Wurth stuff. I have one that Bill J bought for me as a gift. We then used most of it up on his 914 build. :P

If you plan to replace a few critical bolts why not get them from a dealer? You will get Porsche original stuff and not have to worry about if it is correct or not. If the dealer does not have it in stock they should be able to have it in short order. NO, I am not pitching the dealer angle because I work at one. It just seems like a no hassle way out and with little $ involved little can be saved by poking around for the best price.


BTW Granger now stocks Otecker hose clamp kits . $45 for a nice selection of crimp rings and the install/remove tool. Gooood stuff!

[Parenn911]

Originally Posted by Kurt Mickelwait

If you plan to replace a few critical bolts why not get them from a dealer? You will get Porsche original stuff and not have to worry about if it is correct or not. If the dealer does not have it in stock they should be able to have it in short order. NO, I am not pitching the dealer angle because I work at one. It just seems like a no hassle way out and with little $ involved little can be saved by poking around for the best price.

What he said! Lately I've been buying most of my parts from the Rockville Porsche dealership. The customer service is good, I get almost daily updates on my parts, and they try to work with me to get me my stuff when I need it.
Can't beat German rubbers . I just bought some miscellaneous hardware from the dealer, it's the real deal, gotta love bolts with the Porsche crest on it !
The only drawback is that you HAVE to know what you need specifically(read: part number or name). They don't know much about the earlier 911's, but at least some of the service guys are willing to learn .
Andy, get a copy of the PET if you don't already have one. Print out the diagrams and circle the number of the parts and just give the diagram to the service guys, I have been successful at using this approach.

That reminds me, OffCamber, I have the hardware you need to mount you're tail to the decklid. Let me know when you need it.

[Jazzbass]

Originally Posted by Parenn911

What he said! Lately I've been buying most of my parts from the Rockville Porsche dealership.

Never thought I'd live to see the day when Pari was shilling for the dealer.

[Parenn911]

Originally Posted by jazzbass

Never thought I'd live to see the day when Pari was shilling for the dealer.

Hey I'm a baller nowadays.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not buying huge stuff. Just little nick nacks, nuts and bolts that I can actually afford . I buy from more parts suppliers than Dave has green shoes.
I'm just sick of replacing cheap parts that screw up after a few months of installing them. It's not worth the headache for certain parts, and I figure you get what you pay for.
Besides, they aren't not that much higher than aftermarket dealer prices .
I guess the shipping charge is included in the price, because supposedly shipping is "free".

Where do you buy your OEM German parts from that they're so cheap Chris? I guess I need send my biz to wherever you shop.

[thomschoon]

I have used these guys and had great service:

http://www.boltdepot.com


Just about anything out there will have zinc/yellow zinc these days. The Euro community has been eliminating cad plating for several years as they claim the sacrificial corrosion leaches heavy metals into the ground water. When I worked for a large aerospace company, formally of Seattle, we spent a couple years doing research on alternate plating and the options for cad were pretty limited due to cost and chrome was replaced with thermal spray or nickel-sulfamate. So I guess what I am saying is buy what you need and anything yellow or silver should work as long as you use the same grade

[Vicegrip]

Even more bizzare is Pari agreeing with me.

This is a chart of grades that is a nice cross reference. note that the UTS is per square inch so to figure out how strong the bolt is you need to know the min cross section.