[old66tiger]

Anyone know if the GM flywheel bolts are still available?? If not, what is a good facsimile?

[johnta1]

I used to use Mr Gasket bolts.
Not sure if they still make them though.

[Colin Frolick]

http://store.summitracing.com/partde...2&autoview=sku

[poison heart]

I bought flywheel bolts from Summit for my '59, They were not even close to being long enough. Summit has been wrong on a few parts for my '59.

[HWYSTR455]

I use the ARP ones, though in some cases you need a thin wall socket to clear the crank hub. The only thing I don't like about the ARP ones is that they're 12 point. (Personally prefer 6 point). And think I mentioned on another thread, I've had a problem a long time ago with the Mr. Gasket bolts protruding beyond the face of the flywheel, making contact with the clutch disc hub, and preventing full engagement. May have corrected this, but I never went back after I had the problem.


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[Mr. P-Body]

Bob,

The bolt size is 1/2-20 x 1". Any Grade 8 bolt would suffice, but ARP, Hayes, McLeod, etc. all supply them. The ones that are "too short" are "flexplate" bolts, not flywheel bolts. Some mail-order people don't know the difference.

Jim

[OINK 1]

You can get grade 8 ( 6 tick marks on top of bolt ) bolts at Ace Hardware.
Grind off 1/3 of the bolt head, so thy won't hit the clutch disc springs.
95 ft.lbs. torque with lock tite red on threads, oil under bolt head, then clean off the oil after torquing ( so it won't run out onto the flywheel when you fire up the motor). 1" long.
Or get longer bolts so there is a solid non threaded section going through fly wheel, cut so they stick out 1 thread on the back side of the crankshaft flange.

Pontiac Gregg

[old66tiger]

Thanks guys. I saw the ARP ones for $45 a set. Ouch. I also have seen the Pioneer brand out there on the web for about $12 a set and the Mr Gasket for about $10 a set. Will check the local hardware store as well. My factory bolts did not have any lock washers. I saw that Pioneer uses locks. Any preference? Also, never used locktite on either the flywheel bolts or the PP bolts.

[HWYSTR455]

No preference for me, except I don't like the star type washers. If it comes with washers, use them, know that for a fact! The ones that don't come with a washer have a head that has a flat shoulder area under the head, they're not regular bolts. As for loctite, I personally wouldn't use it on the flywheel bolts, but have in the past used it on pressure plate bolts. Think that would be ok, as long as you use the blue, but you don't have to, and honestly I've never had one back out even dry..


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[Jack Gifford]

Hardware store grade-8 bolts (produced where?) are nowhere near the quality of original Pontiac bolts. There's much more to total quality than merely ultimate tensile strength- thread class, flatness/squareness/finish of head underside, precision of radius under the head, etc.
A problem I've had with some aftermarket flywheel bolts was the thinness of the heads- way too thin to deal with 95 ft.lb.- even using a socket with the entry-bevel removed.
With correct bolts, no washers should be used.

[gene simmons]

I wasn't aware of the arp flexplate bolts having a shallow head. I am using the factory reinforcing ring and needed a longer bolt,so i used the Mr. Gasket flywheel bolts, #914, pontiac 1/2"-20x1" Gr. 8.
They were the closest to the size of the original factory bolts,although i do not like the shallower heads. So, i guess the flywheel and flexplate bolts both have shallow heads.