Other: Mystery bolts falling from my car! Help!

[Stody]

1950 Champion Starlight. After driving about 10 miles at highway speed, I turned off to a side road and as I rounded the corner, I heard something kick up underneath my car. I looked in my rearview mirror to see something tumbling on the pavement behind me and a metallic noise. A few blocks down the road, it happened again. This time I stopped the car and retrieved a bolt that had fallen to the roadway. The car continued to drive fine and I went on to my event. On my way home it happened a third time as I was getting back on the highway but I was unable to stop to see what had fallen. The car continued to drive and handle fine with no ill effect. I searched the engine compartment and underneath the car but was not able to identify anything missing.

The bolt I picked up has a hex head with a 7/16 - 14 thread and is 2" long.

Q: Is there something in a 1950 Champion Starlight that used that particular bolt?

Q: Any ideas what this might be from?

I suppose these parts could have been lying loose after previous work and just became dislodged. I don't know but I can't seem to see where this bolt might have come from. Any suggestions are appreciated.



Solved the mystery, look for my reply below.

[StudeRich]

They could be a lot of things, my first guess is Bumper Bolts, they could be Engine Mount Bolts or Transmission Bolts.

Think... what part of the Car has recently or not, been worked on? Any of the above?

[DEEPNHOCK]

(Humorous side note)

Was heading to a show at sunrise one day...
Had completed some undertruck repairs the night before.
Couldn't find my favorite 1/2"x9/16" combo box wrench....
Drove about 40 miles...cruisin' at 65mph..enjoying the sunrise...
Then I heard it.... bouncing around up under the truck.
My first thought....... "Found it!"
My second thought... "Lost it!"
Still miss that wrench.....

[doofus]

That bolt looks shiny, not from a 50's car, but could be from a repair. bumper bracket mounting bolts? over long control arm mounting bolts,lower. put it on a lift and search, im betting it from up front. Luck Doofus

[r1lark]

From the picture this looks like a coarse thread bolt. Trying to think where a coarse thread bolt this size is used, and drawing a blank. However, my experiences with the '47 thru '52 cars is limited.

The bumper bolts on the later cars that I have taken out/reinstalled had a heavily chamfered end, almost to a point. The earlier cars may have been different, however.

[jclary]

Time to examine the car from underneath. Equip yourself with a good set of safety glasses/goggles, flashlight, and perhaps, a mechanics inspection mirror. Check every mounting bolt, and all access holes in the bottom plate of the frame rails, and any located in cross members. Some bolts may have been misplaced inside those cavities and left lying. Even if they were replaced with other bolts, could have been overlooked and left lying inside. The vibration of moving while driving, could have dislodged them.

No matter what, a good going over would be good for your safety, peace of mind, and the safety of anyone in the path of the launched bolts.

[jackb]

Control arm bolts ? Coarse threads ? Is the car wandering about ?

[Stody]

There are absolutely no driving issues present. Using some jack stands, I have been underneath the car with a flashlight and I can not see anywhere that is missing a fastener. I'm absolutely stumped. Next step is to actually get it on a lift and maybe I can spot something that I've been missing. BTW, my first thought was bumper mounting. but everything is secure there.

[Michidan]

That's an odd size to drop out of a car and I agree it just looks too "new" to be a 50 starlight bolt. My car is now modified so I cannot remember - is there a hole at the bottom of the spare tire well? Any chance you have a few loose things in the trunk that fell down there and are dropping out?

[gordr]

Bolts of that size are used to mount the transmission to the bell housing, and to mount the overdrive to the rear of the transmission. But they generally are not cad plated, and had they come from there, I'd expect them to be greasy. Most of the front suspension bolts should be fine thread.

[Mike Sal]

I think those bolts were already on the pavement & you just kicked them up as you drove along. Not too many 7/16 bolts on your '50

[hobiejack11]

That is a pretty big bolt and I' thinking that the chance of kicking up three of the same size bolt is somewhere between slim and not at all. You were not by any chance following the ARP vendor's truck by any chance , were you? Seriously, the only place that comes to mind would be the bolts that hold the tranny to the bell housing. At any case I would not feel comfortable driving the car until I found where they were from

[56Golden]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]56876[/ATTACH]

How about posting a pic. of the bolt head (cap/top)???

[Stody]

Ok so here's an update: Upon careful checking underneath the car, I can see no evidence of a missing bolt. My main concern was the transmission to the bellhousing and the overdrive unit to the transmission since these are two key areas that might have used a bolt of this size. Happy to report that both of these structures have all bolts present and that all bolt heads are still painted green from when the engine was overhauled. So I'm back to the mystery of where the heck this might have come from and what exactly was it that fell off the car in the two other incidents that night? Arrgh!

[56Golden]

<snip>So I'm back to the mystery of where the heck this might have come from and what exactly was it that fell off the car in the two other incidents that night? Arrgh!

IF ...you are really interested in knowing and continue to Post here about wanting to know, P-L-E-A-S-E consider doing what was requested in Post #13!!! The 'head markings' (or even the absence of head markings) can help us all I.D. that bolt. TIA