OT - Where to buy odd fasteners?

[M.B. Naegle]

Humor me here.
As the title suggests, I'm looking for (specifically) 7/16-14 Grade 5 (ish) hex cap bolts..... but with a 11/16" wide head. Everything I see is either 5/8 wide head, or not advertised (and likely 5/8"). Could also use some other generic SAE thread nuts and bolts that likewise have 1/16" over or under sized head widths. Any places I should look? Is there another standard of bolt dimensions that these fall under than what all the regular bolt manufacturers/suppliers sell?

Why does it matter?

It doesn't for all practical purposes, and yes I have a lathe and can (and in the end may "have" to) just MAKE a handful, but if they're available I'd rather not. Reason why the head size matters is that this is for a vintage tractor (1949 Ford 8N) that has the "feature" of being able to be dismantled in the field with only a hand full of tools stored under the hood. Having an extra wrench in the tool kit isn't a deal breaker, my OCD would just rather be able to take the PTO apart with one wrench. It being "correct" or "authentic" is less a concern as is I'm cheap and don't want to replace every single fastener on the tractor when I could do 5 or 6 and stick with the tool kit it has.

 

[LOTT]

McMaster. If they don't have it you're most likely out of luck and in custom made land.

That is a cool feature, thinking about the poor guy that has to repair in the field.

 

[atex57]

Are the original bolts made with an 11/16" head? Standard 7/16" bolts have 5/8 heads and the nuts are 11/16. Maybe that is what you are thinking about?
Actually, a different size head VS nut makes sense as then you do not have to have two of any size. Wrench sets have one 5/8 and one 11/16, not two 11/16.

Ford tractors have always had a fetish for 7/16 and 9/16 bolts way up into the 80's or 90's.

Ed.

 

[sfriedberg]

I believe that is a 7/16 "heavy" bolt. That should arm you with the right name, but they still aren't going to be easy to find.
I had a look in Machinery's Handbook (27th ed.) and they don't list inch "heavy" bolts below 1/2. Starting at 1/2", the heads on heavy bolts are 1/8" larger than the normal heads. On the other hand, MH does list inch "heavy" nuts below 1/2, and the difference across the flats is only 1/16" below 1/2" bolt size, and 1/8" at and above 1/2" bolt size.

 

[memphisjed]

That fits a a325 bolt discription- but I do not see a 325 7/16 on my handy sales chart.

Check with St. Louis bolt.

 

[M.B. Naegle]

Thanks for the leads guys. I think you're on the right track as far as it being a Heavy or A325 series fastener, but those seem to start at 1/2" diameter, so I'm thinking the 7/16" size has just been dropped from the line-up in recent years, or they were custom order by Ford.

I did find that a bunch of 7/16-14 Cylinder Head bolts have 11/16" wide heads, so it's probably just an Automotive world thing, but it's one possible source for the longer ones (3"+).

Either way it looks like some Hex stock is in my turning future.

 

[SVE Performance]

During the period your tractor was built Ford was making it's own fasteners so they had complete control . Prior to the SAE writing standards for fasteners 7/16 bolts were available with both 5/8 and 11/16 hex. Also 7/16 fasteners are not considered a SAE standard fastener, as it's nut is 11/16 hex and the head of the bolt is a 5/8 hex which does not comply with the SAE standard . Bill