After replacing the water pump on my '65 283, I was wondering if it'd be worth the effort of changing the zinc-coated grade 5 bolts for stainless steel? I know when I do body work on the truck, I'll be using as much SS as possible. Yes, I know the cost, but the original bolts were pitted and probably weakened and I figure SS would hold up better in the years to come. Ideas, please- does anyone else do this? Bud
Hi Bud. When I do that kind of thing on the motor, Water pump, exhaust manifold, intake , etc. I always replace the bolts with ARP replacements. I've used both their normal, and polished finished bolts. Top notch hardware that is actually stronger than grade 8. I just did the same thing with a chrome water pump and used their polished bolt set. Looks good ! I also replaced all the bolts on my front end after a recent motor swap. All were stainless. The bolts that were exposed, I grabbed the Mother's and my Dremil. They shine up real nice. Dennis
When I put together my 52 chevy I used 99% SS. Make sure you use an anti seize compound as SS galls very easily.
