'59 Plymouth Forum

It was all I could do to get the bolts off of the rear bumper guards, before I had the guards replated. The heads are now seriously rounded, and one bolt is severely rusted at the tip. I'd like to replace them before I put the guards back on.

The bolts are 1" long, and my best guess is 20 TPI. The shank measures 3/8" -- not sure what size cap bolt to ask for. Not something the local Home Depot is likely to carry. Any advice as to how to handle?

Dan

Dan, if your guards are all chrome (not the ones withe the rubber insert) the bolt is 3/8 NF and is available at any hardware store. One thing to do for sure is to tap the hole in the bracket first to clean out any chrome material that probably got in the threads during the rechroming process. If you can turn the new bolt in with your fingers, you wouldn,t need to tap the hole. Be sure to use a flat washer and a lock washer when mounting. The guard is only mounted with the one bolt and they tend to move if not real tight.
Tom