Topic: OEM Bolts and Fasteners

[Sunlitgold68]

As far as bolts and fasteners, how strict Ford was when it came to assembling Mustangs at the Factory, I looked at some junk yard 68 Mustangs last week mainly to see the head markings on some bolts, all were built in Metuchen. I studied the bolts that secure the hood latch support and the front 2 grill bolts near the support. I found one car used the bolts with the anchor in the middle for all of the bolts, one car had the "T" design and 4 dots, and used a mix and match of each and my car seemed to use the bolts with the 3 rings and letters "R", "D", "W".

Could it be that Ford used whatever they had laying around, as all of these bolts are the same size.

[gtamustang]

Actually, Ford didn't use "what they had laying around." Back in the sixties, Ford was already employing JIT inventory systems for the assembly lines. Thus, they used many suppliers for the various parts like the fasteners. That way, Ford was not as risk of stopping the assembly line if one or more suppliers had production issues.

The variety of fasterners on a given Mustang is fairly common. It would not be difficult to accept that fasteners from different suppliers were mixed on the assembly line (tray is running low, fill it up). The best thing to do for your restoration is to bag and tag it all and take lots of detailed pictures. I know the head judge, as well as the resident "coach" have seen enough variety on un-restored cars to accept some variations, especially when the owner has taken the time to document what they did.

Regards,

[Bob Gaines]

Actually, Ford didn't use "what they had laying around." Back in the sixties, Ford was already employing JIT inventory systems for the assembly lines. Thus, they used many suppliers for the various parts like the fasteners. That way, Ford was not as risk of stopping the assembly line if one or more suppliers had production issues.

The variety of fasterners on a given Mustang is fairly common. It would not be difficult to accept that fasteners from different suppliers were mixed on the assembly line (tray is running low, fill it up). The best thing to do for your restoration is to bag and tag it all and take lots of detailed pictures. I know the head judge, as well as the resident "coach" have seen enough variety on un-restored cars to accept some variations, especially when the owner has taken the time to document what they did.

Regards,

+1 . Bob