Mystery bolts falling from my car! Help!

[altair]

The bolt looks like a V8 starter motor bolt.

[StudeRich]

The bolt looks like a V8 starter motor bolt.

Except that the Correct ones would be NF Fine Thread.

[Stody]

Okay 56Golden, here you go. What can you tell me about it? 7/14-20 by 2.0 inches long

[56Golden]

Okay 56Golden, here you go. What can you tell me about it? 7/14-20 by 2.0 inches long

[ATTACH=CONFIG]57052[/ATTACH]

Thanks!

Definitely a Rockford manufactured, Grade 5, bolt. http://www.rockfordfastener.com/ Looks like Rockford's history only goes back to 1977 so would not have been installed by Studebaker in the 50's

Now to put on the 'Dick Tracy' hat

[Lynn]

I thing all we can do is theorize, unless Stody wants to return to the "scene of the crime" to test my theory.

Me? I believe someone dropped a few of these on the road. Could have been in the back of a pick up and just rolled out. Stody ran over a few in such a way that they popped up in the air and made contact with the bottom of the car.

You could always go back to that stretch of road and start looking to see if there are more. Chances are there are more than three if those three just happened to be in line with the edge of your tire tread.

[345 DeSoto]

That's what "I" thought...

[Stody]

Kicking up something that was on the road is definitely a possibility but doing it for the third time on another road going in the opposite direction is unlikely. Another theory might be that when the clutch was replaced > a year ago, extra bolts may have come with the clutch assembly or perhaps the mechanic had some bolts of that size laying about. May have dropped one or more of the parts in an area that wedged in place until my recent drive let them loose. It is in fact the same size as the trans to bellhousing bolts... so...??? Mystery continues...

[DEEPNHOCK]

All your manifold bolts still there?

[Stody]

yup, all manifold bolts in place.

[StudeNorm]

That bolt has a fairly decent shank and it is course thread so it has limited applications. I am thinking tranny to bell housing or bell housing to engine. I have seen 'mechanics' (in my case this would be me) remove said bolts and put them in convenient spots for later retrieval such as on cross members or along a frame rail. If the original mechanic did not re-install the tranny or it was assembled off the car those bolts may just have remained where they were put until that fateful day that the car was taken for a drive and they got shaken enough to fall out. Also they may be upper housing bolts that were hand started but didn't get torqued down.

If a thorough search under the car shows all hardware present and accounted for I would not get too concerned. Be sure to get a good look at the top bell housing bolts. Maybe even run your hand along the lip to locate the bolt heads, or empty holes(!) if you can't see all around the perimeter. Otherwise it sounds like you have done your part to keep your car and yourself safe.

[karterfred88]

My guess, mechanic used extra long bolts to "pull" trans to the bell housing, having had trouble lifting and sliding it in, once in, removed them, left them on the frame rail and forgot them.

[56Golden]

<snip> Another theory might be that when the clutch was replaced > a year ago, extra bolts may have come with the clutch assembly or perhaps the mechanic had some bolts of that size laying about. May have dropped one or more of the parts in an area that wedged in place until my recent drive let them loose. Mystery continues...

Hey, you may have just solved your own "MYSTERY"!!! About how many times has your ’50 Champion been out on the road since that major driveline repair?

And my final thought here; was there/is there a towing or tie-down devise attached to the frame assembly or suspension? That type of Grade 5 (stronger) bolts you found have been known to be used with towbars, towbar brackets and various design tie-down brackets used while transporting a vehicle over-the-road.

[Lynn]

How sure are we there were no "Rockford" bolts used on Studebakers? I know the current Rockford company (Rockford Fasteners) has a fairly recent history. Was there another company that went by the name Rockford?

Just removed the gas tank from my 49 2R16A. While under there i noticed two Rockford bolts holding the master cyl in place. Easy enough to believe they were both replaced when the mc was installed.

However, all four of the bolts holding the gas tank in are Rockford bolts. The back two are specialty bolts with holes drilled for cotter pins to retain castle nuts. I can certainly believe they have been replaced as well, but it sure wasn't recently. Used a lot of penetrating oil, and this vehicle is as rust free as any unrestored 49 truck out there.

Found this on the web (so it must be true): Rockford Products started back in 1929 and became one of the world's leading manufacturers of fasteners and cold form components. Ten years ago, the company had around 650 employees compared to the 171 they have now.


And this: http://www.fundinguniverse.com/compa...ation-history/

[Lynn]

Almost EVERY bolt I have removed from the undercarriage of my 49 farm truck is a Rockford bolt.

Changing my position on this (from post #20 above). I think you have some bolts coming loose from the vehicle.

Did you ever find anything?

[Skip Lackie]

Agree on Rockford. I used to spend a lot of time removing parts from Stude trucks, and habitually threw the nuts and bolts in the same box with whatever I removed. Nearly all of them are Rockford. Also, Newman and Altman used to sell hardware by the pound, and I always stocked up on that stuff. All of the ordinary nuts and bolts are Rockford (admittedly,these were probably purchased by Studebaker later).