Different Bolts On Same Model Cars

[Bingster]

I was looking at Thrashing Cow's photos of his S-11 on his thread, especially the bolts & washers, as I didn't label some of mine and I have a lot of research to do.

 

Anyway, for example, I was looking at his front inner fender shields that bolt along the top to the fender, five on each side.  His car has hex bolts with the recessed inner head and exterior teeth washers. But my car and another I've seen on here have beefier bolts with larger heads. My car also had interior teeth washers on these particular bolts.

 

These S-11 Desoto's of this design were the same from 1946 to about early 1949 if my info is correct. So his should be like mine.

 

Could this be a change from year to year, or Canadian vs. American models or Custom vs. Deluxe?  Would a Custom have beefier fasteners in some places than the Deluxe models?  Or maybe just a factory thing: they ran out of the other kind of bolts!

 

It's a process going through the parts book and counting pieces and sizes and etc. etc. etc.  In a way it's kinda fun, especially as I don't have the weather or money to do more major work. 

[Plymouthy Adams]

do you have any documentation that stating no repairs have ever been done to either car in the course of its life?  that is where you start in my opinion..

[Bingster]

No.  Good point.

[Bingster]

So then, the bolts and fasteners would have been natural metal, seeing how the fenders and such had all been pre-painted before going on the line? 

[Young Ed]

No.  Good point.

You need a bigger sampling. You get a dozen cars and only 1 has oddball bolts you can be reasonably ok with saying the other 11 are correct. But at the same time maybe that car was built during a shortage of the other bolts or on a Friday when the guys were already checked out for the week.

 

So then, the bolts and fasteners would have been natural metal, seeing how the fenders and such had all been pre-painted before going on the line? 

I believe they would have been cad plated for the areas that weren't painted as an assembly.

[Bingster]

After really looking at all the other bolts and screws from the car, I have come to the conclusion that the 10 bolts that I am talking about along the top edge of the fender shields are most likely replacements.  Most of the other fasteners, their hex heads have the recess in the center. I'm not sure what you call that type of a hex head. Some hex heads have the washer built in.  The beefier bolts are solid hex heads but then they're made to fasten heavier gauge metal parts of more critical importance.  It's really not a big deal unless you're trying for show quality, which I am not.

[Bingster]

I've confirmed that somebody replaced some bolts.  Probably during a paint job. Car was blue and now it's black.

[greg g]

Why does my early 46 P 15 have a drive shaft with a different rear u joint that most of the rest of the p 15's in the world?  Chrysler was noted for using every last piece in the parts bin.  So if, say they had several thousand u joints from building Boufors anti aircraft guns in WW II why not modify the driveshaft to use them up instead of throwing them out or selling them for scrap?  Also keep in mind that one suplier of hardware probably could not keep up with the high demand for cars after the war.  So OEM specs could have been met and supplied by serveral source companies.  So the bin of fender bolts built to Chrysler specs by Acme widgets gets replaced by a bin from  Bostwick's bolts and stuff. and 400 cars later another bunch from Acme shows up.  They both fit, they both meet specs, they both do the job and whiz, bang the line keeps moving.

[Bingster]

Well, up front right before the radiator there is a crossbar connected on either side by a hex bolt.  The bolt on the driver's side has a solid head and the passenger side bolt has a recessed head. That may be a bit too close in proximity to be a different factory job, but who knows?

[Plymouthy Adams]

as for me and my car...it is best to have a mismatch bolt than not to be bolted at all....keeping in my that when most folks are bent over doing a close up inspection their backside is exposed for the planting of a foot or back of neck and a judy-chop (pun intended, look him up on you-tube)  

 

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[Dodgeb4ya]

You can look at lots of pictures of cars like yours on Google to compare.

Have done it a lot.

Don't make a decision after looking at 4 or 5 cars.

[Bingster]

Well, who but I will most often look under my hood, considering the car will sit inside its garage most of the time?  And for those who do look at the engine compartment, nobody except another goofy Desoto owner who forgot to label parts would notice the head of a different bolt.

[rb1949]

If the car was disassembled for a paint job, you're lucky. Otherwise I agree, no judging, no big deal.