25/32 socket...Huh?

[Bills R2]

Has enyone ever used a 25/32 socket? And just what for??

'64 R2 back on da road again
POCI,SCCA,SIMTA

[gordr]

It's not an 8-point socket, by any chance?

I guess, somebody, somewhere, designed a fastener that required a 25/32" socket. I know I have some 19/32" sockets, that I never use.

I wonder if there was a standard "oversize" socket for heavily-galvanized nuts? I have seen some oddball nuts; the ones on garden shears come to mind.

Gord Richmond, within Weasel range of the Alberta Badlands

[JDP]

I thought they were for some sending units.

JDP/Maryland
64 Daytona HT/R2 clone
64 GT R2
63 Lark 2 door
52 & 53 Starliner
51 Commander

[dpson]

I recall my dad needing one when he was working on our Model A F*#d, however I can't remember exactly what for. It seems like had to do with rebuilding the engine, perhaps main bearing caps?

Dan Peterson
Montpelier, VT
1960 Lark V-8 Convertible
1960 Lark V-8 Convertible (parts car)
1961 Lark Crusier
1962 Lark V-8 Regal Convertible

[dictator27]

Maybe that's an SAE equivalent to a Metric socket?

Terry

[PlainBrownR2]

Dunno about that particular size socket, but I have to use an oversize socket on the oil drain plug for the '49 2r5. I can see the agricultural side of Studebaker's persona coming out in spades with using these types of sizes with that plug. The oversize sockets don't just come in one size, its like the other socket sets. They come in ever increasing sizes. 32nd size almost sounds like going up to 2 inch size sockets as 16th inch states going up to one inch size sockets.


1964 Studebaker Commander R2 clone
1950 Studebaker 2R5 with 170 turbocharged
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[John Kirchhoff]

I figured you old timers would know the answer to that one. It's a British Standard I think the called it. It consisted of 25/32, 19/32, 17/32, 11/32 and so on as well as including our familiar 9/16, 1/2, etc. My biking buddy has a '74 Norton Commando, built at the same time Britain was switching over to the metric system. It has a combination of British, SAE and metric fasteners and he needs three sets of wrenches whenever he works on it.

[Skip Lackie]

I have a socket set from the 1940s that includes all those 32nd of an inch sizes. I actually have used them on a few occasions -- like for example encountering a nut or bolt buggered up by some previous owner (which I of course have never done!). If it were 13/16, you file the flats down a bit, and a 25/32 socket fits it perfectly.

They also come in handy sometimes when unexpectedly encountering a metric bolt and you don't have your metric sockets handy.

Skip Lackie
Washington DC

[Guido]

I seem to recall that my father had an early socket set with one in it. No ratchet with it, but an oversized allen wrench (about 1/2 inch thick) that you used to turn the socket with. It all fit nicely into a green tray with a hinged top to keep everything together.

[PackardV8]

Hi, John,

Gonna be a bit doubtful until you furnish some documentation as to US inch/fractional sockets having to do with British Standards.
The British Standard

quote:Whitworth spanner (wrench) markings refer to the bolt diameter rather than the length of one flat of the hexagon as in other standards.

The Brits first converted their wrenches from Whitworth to NC/USS inch and then to metrics. We will concede as the Brits (and Yanks) converted to metrics, there were several years when all could be found on the same vehicle.

As Dan said, the 32nds have been around US cars at least since the 1930s, as some of the Ford Model A engines had three different nut sizes on the main and rod caps. As I remember, 19/32", 5/8" and 21/32".

As PlainBrownR2 says, Snap-On and most other serious industrial tool catalogs offered every 32nd from 3/32" to 31/32".

thnx, jv



PackardV8

[gordr]

"quote:Whitworth spanner (wrench) markings refer to the bolt diameter rather than the length of one flat of the hexagon as in other standards."

Agree with the first part of that statement, but the other half is wrong, as you can prove to yourself in 2 minutes with a ruler, a couple of nuts, and a wrench or two. Bolt head and nut sizes are specified as the distance between two parallel flats on the head.

Gord Richmond, within Weasel range of the Alberta Badlands

[Roscomacaw]

Thru the years I've had to have an 11/32nds wrench for some nuts associated with car ignition systems. In my aviation years I encountered the use of 7/32nds and 9/32nds fasteners as well as some 11/32nds too.
In spite of HAVING the odd (literally) 13/32, 17/32, 25/32 tool lying about, I've never had call to use them.
In my resto shop years - working on lots of prewar foreign classics - we had to have sets of BS tools, and at that time (the early 70s) Snap-On carried sets of wrenches and sockets in British Standard sizes.

Miscreant adrift in
the BerStuda Triangle


1957 Transtar 1/2ton
1960 Larkvertible V8
1958 Provincial wagon
1953 Commander coupe

[John Kirchhoff]

Whitworth! That's the name I was trying to think of! My same buddy also has a Triumph car and motorcyle. All three had so many of the Whitworth sizes that he had to order a full set of wrenches and sockets from a Triumph car parts supplier (just like SASCO) since they were impossible to find anywhere else. He showed them to me and they were made in England, top quality, very nicely chromed, expensive and the brand name was "Big Dick"! Needless to say, I make it a point to remind him of that quite often. And they say money can't buy a big dick...wrench!

I have a couple of smaller sockets made in some God forsaken Asian country that were stamped with a 10mm size which was then scuffed up and a fractional size stamped next to it...I can't remember for sure but something like 31/64" or such. I suspect they were making sockets for both domestic and overseas markets and used some of the same ones. There are other sizes that interchange easily, a common one that comes to my mind is 13mm and 1/2" (I think) because I interchange them all the time. I believe 3/4 and 19mm is another one I've interchanged when working on brakes. As far as bolt sizes go, I had an '85 Ford Tempo made in Canada that was all metric while the daughter had an '85 made in Kansas City that had metric on the engine while the body was all inch sizes. Now that got confusing! Kind of like the old '80 Pinto we had that had a Brazilian made engine, German tranny and Canadian body. I think Ford was about the only thing American on it.

[Bills R2]

What a great response guys! Thanks!

'64 R2 back on da road again
POCI,SCCA,SIMTA