Correct Intake Manifold Bolts??

[Kent K.]

Re: Correct Intake Manifold Bolts??

My '67 is a mid-production year job with documented bolts. Intake manifold bolts are grade 5 with an M inside a circle, 3/8" x 1 3/8" long, 30 ft.lb. torque. T-stat housing bolts are grade 5, the long one is RGC with letters between grade lines that do not meet at the center and the short one is a TR. If you plan to be at NCRS Florida Chapter Winter Regional Meet, look for me with my '67 blue/white convertible. I'll have my documentation to share with you or anyone else. I've been meaning to write an article about this documentation for years but just have not gotten 'round to it.
Kent #6201

[Art A.]

Re: Correct Intake Manifold Bolts??

Terry, What you said is true and what John has posted below your post is also very true, but to clarify a bit more-------At Chevrolet Engineering it wasn't the Corvette Release Engineer that specified the fasteners, it was a Fastener Release Engineer, and as I recall his name was Tom Gill, and others, that actually released Fasteners. Of course the Corvette release engineers had lots of input and in some cases dictated a source. The Fastener Release Engineer would work with the Purchasing Department, back in the 50's and 60' GM required Purchasing to have at least 3 sources for each part. As John said, there were some very high volume parts, such as bolts, that had LOTS of DIFFERENT suppliers. I also agree with John----I also cringe when I hear someone in our hobby currently making a blanket statement that such and such a bolt WAS or is -----from a given manufacture. Knowing the GM Purchasing system as I do, In most applications, I really find it hard to comprehend how someone TODAY can be absolutely certain of the manufacture of a given bolt.

Art

[Terry M.]

Re: Correct Intake Manifold Bolts?? *TL*

I sure appreciate the comments of John and Art. In the Corvette hobby we are truly fortunate to have some of the folks who were there on the line and in the trenches when our cars were being built. Restorers of other makes are less fortunate.

[Ralph E.]

Re: Correct Intake Manifold Bolts??

To Terry McManmon, John Hinckley and Art Armstrong, I think you all have explained this subject brilliantly. It is always interesting to learn how things were way back when. I have been to numerous shows and found judges making statements that the car could not be original or could not be original matching numbers because the intake or other bolts were incorrect. I brought the subject up because my intake manifold bolts are not all the same and I was thinking about changing them. My car has had a life for 35 years, I’m sure others had been taken care of it before I got it. Otherwise it wouldn’t have survived. It wasn’t a collector queen. It was driven daily. The last four years, I’m sure, have been it’s happiest:)