Fastener Suppliers for US?

[TorqueHorse]

I've been cheapskate restoring the fasteners I've encountered so far in a vinegar bath (thinking that if they lasted 30 years, they should last a bit longer after a good clean), but sooner or later I will need to replace some (or all) of them.

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From posts years ago it looks like BoltDepot was a place folks used for getting new fasteners in the US; any other recommendations? Shipping costs are a bear but I can't seem to find suitable metric stuff at any local stores.

[Brit-Car-Nut]

American suppliers rarely offer the hardware in the same lengths as Lotus used.

I use McMaster-Car: http://www.mcmaster.com but more for their other products than bolts as yellow zinc is an odd request over here and odd lengths make it very hard to buy the correct parts.

I have tried other "cheap" US suppliers but found their hardware was from China and although marked correctly, their grades were way less than promised.

I even bought a bunch of NEW hardware from Lotus UK (no one should have given me a parts book...) when I was rebuilding my front suspension and was disappointed when most of it arrived with no plating at all and around 20X the realistic price for similar bolts.

I have been reusing as much of the original hardware I can steal from the 3 or 4 carcasses I have laying around. I have even had some original bolts and nuts de-plated and re-plated so they are exactly as original.

I keep some of the correct original hardware bits in stock, so if there is something you absolutely need, I can check to see if I have found it.

[Tuga2112]

I've been cheapskate restoring the fasteners I've encountered so far in a vinegar bath (thinking that if they lasted 30 years, they should last a bit longer after a good clean), but sooner or later I will need to replace some (or all) of them.

Screen Shot 2020-05-31 at 1.23.49 PM.png

From posts years ago it looks like BoltDepot was a place folks used for getting new fasteners in the US; any other recommendations? Shipping costs are a bear but I can't seem to find suitable metric stuff at any local stores.

I understand you want to replace instead of reuse. and i personally do that, however given your position, i want to point out that using a battery charger and a few bits and bobs, you can restore the original fasteners to an extremely high quality level.

if i was in your position, (and assuming I had the space for it) I would consider investing in setting up a DIY rust removal and zinc plating station, if you had a small sandblasting cabinet, and using the battery charger the rust removal in a acidic solution can achieve very impressive results, also zinc plating is surprising easy.

I would then folow every fastener removal with a quick sandblasting cleanup of the major rust, then overnight electrolisis rust removal for the rust that your eyes cannot see, and next morning 5 to 10 minutes zinc plating.
if the fastener was reusable to start, it will probably be in as good as new condition.

all the processes i suggested are covered in youtube videos very well, and i would argue the video Toby (m100 restoration series) did on zinc plating is the best on the topic in the whole of youtube, personally I think its far behond overkill and not practical to follow, but there are others with simpler approaches that will easily give you a very good level of rust protection for a fraction of the effort.

as far as buying fasteners, you always have the option of opening up the parts manual, and start listing all the fasteners needed by section. then just make a bulk order from the UK, im pretty sure you will find UK sellers on ebay willing to dispatch a bulk order across the sea.

[dapinky]

I'm not sure which exact fasteners you are referring to, but when i did my major rebuild a few years ago I replaced all nuts and bolts on the car - using stainless where I could,but HT steel where it is needed.

Whilst (in the UK) it is easy to get what you need when you want it, I bought 'bulk' quantities of the more common things (M5 & M6 bolts nuts, washers etc - also big bags of M8, 10, 12 nylocks) - even then there were an awful lot of 'individual' sizes which I needed to get in smaller quantities..... so I made a list from the Parts Manual..... it doesn't cover a lot of things (ie seats are an M10 fitting, and various bits in the engine bay etc)...

I don't know if it will help you in creating a 'shopping list' for your requirements, but here it is if it is any use to you.

suspension bolts.pdf

[TorqueHorse]

Thanks all! Lots of options, and you've made me feel not so bad for trying to reuse what I have too. And yeah, the parts guide is a great reference that I hadn't relied on much yet. Just planning ahead I guess really is worth it
Thanks again