Skid Strip Carriage Bolts

[Farrell In Vancouver]

Pop did the monumental task of removing the old bolts from the deck so we can get the frame sandblasted. Going by Jim Schilds book I confidently told him the would be about a hundred bolts. He brought me a bucket on Saturday and said " You underestimated, there are onehundred and forty bolts"! "And I do not want to see another one for quite a whle"

A tough man for a tough job I thought, and he didn't loose one of them.
Sorting through the pile I found three different lengths of bolts, and two different types of washers/lock washers.
I can save the majority of them as the deck wood was saturated with oil which gave them some protection over the years, but some are just to far gone for reuse.

Can anyone recommend a supllier for the carriage bolts to hold the strips? They must have a very low dome hieght as they cannot protrude above the skid stips, which would defeat The purpose.

[Shorthaul]

I,M curious how he held the head to loosen the nut, or did the strip hold the carriage bolt. Reason I ask is my bolts are pretty rusted and probably just spin in the strip.

[Chris Haynes]

In most cases it is easier to tighten the bolts until they break rather than try to unscrew them.

[Farrell In Vancouver]

I,M curious how he held the head to loosen the nut, or did the strip hold the carriage bolt. Reason I ask is my bolts are pretty rusted and probably just spin in the strip.

He said a few required the use of a fire wrench to loosen, but all were still square enough for the strips to hold them.

[Neil Wilson]

I have used something heavy to set on top of the bolt heads to hold the bolt into the skid strip square hole for nut removal. I have used a torch to heat the square nuts (red hot). This allows the nuts to be removed without a problem normally.

If the hardware is not going to be reused, then yea, just tighten and twist off. I will never do this if the hardware looks usable. Finding original looking hardware is usually impossible. For a non-restoration, modern day hardware works fine.

A modern day carriage bolt can have the head ground to look like the original heads in most cases. This is about the only way to duplicate the look. In my opinion, there is nothing that looks worse than using modern day hardware on a restoration (i.e. an assembly line type restoration).

[Farrell In Vancouver]

I will agree Niel, and I could alter new fasteners to match the old, But what would the original finish of the carriage bolt have been?

[Neil Wilson]

The AA platform bodies were assembled before painting. So, all of the hardware was painted body color (same color as the cab).

[Farrell In Vancouver]

So, am I to assume the wood bed would have also been painted as an assembled unit?

Its seems almost every photo of a AA flat bed (after restoration) the owner has opted for black bed components (bed frame, skid strips/bolts, and steel stakes) and stained and/or varnished wood (bed boards and rack rails).

If this style is inccorrect, it's at least, be very popular.
Question to all:
How many owners on this AA forum have done the bed as the factory supplied?

[Neil Wilson]

The one platform which I restored was painted all one color. However, I painted parts individually so that paint got on everything (like skid strip bottoms, cross member tops, etc.)

Most do not try to do an assembly line type of restoration. Most do not to do the research to determine what was original (or they assume what others say is correct). My guess is that less than 15% of A/AA folks are interested in assembly line type restorations. This most likely applies to any other vehicle.

After spending $'s on the wood (usually the wrong type of wood - like oak), it is not painted. Most want to do there project the way they want (logical to me).

[Chris Haynes]

A small lathe would be great for reshaping the heads of modern carraige bolts to the slimmer design.

[macswoods]

OR chuck the modern bolt in an electric drill and grind while turning.