How To Work With Car Fasteners When Fixing Your Own Car
There are many people who are usually huge car fans, and may even decide to maintain and overhaul their cars on their own. If you are one of these or are thinking of starting to do this, there are a number of important issues you often need to keep in mind. The most important of […]
There are many people who are usually huge car fans, and may even decide to maintain and overhaul their cars on their own. If you are one of these or are thinking of starting to do this, there are a number of important issues you often need to keep in mind. The most important of these is making sure that you have the right policies regarding the use of fasteners for the job. It’s important that you always do as much as you can to get the right fasteners, otherwise you run the risk of becoming frustrated with your car building exploits. Some of the specific issues you need to look out for include:
Remember that they add weight
If you are building a car from the ground up, you need to remember that items such as the fasteners essentially add weight to the car. There are a number of ways of limiting this. First, you could come up with a smart design that reduces the number of fasteners you want to use, but in such a manner that you will still end up having the structural rigidity that is required to make the car safe. With the availability of design programs that can be used to figure this out, this should not be much of a problem.
Your other alternative is to buy fasteners which are light. A good example of this are the titanium hex head cap screws. Titanium is a material that is very strong and yet very light, which makes it perfect for use in such circumstances. They tend to be a bit more expensive than other types of fasteners, but are worth it in the end.
Be precise where there is the need to be
When doing car construction, you will find that there are some areas in which the use of fasteners has to be done precisely. For instance, when attaching the engine to its bay, you might need to make sure that the tension in each of the nitronic 50 hex lag bolts is the same. If you fail to do this, part of the engine is likely to wobble around too much, and this will result in it getting damaged much faster than usual. This means that even if you don’t own a torque wrench, making an effort to buy or rent one is advisable if you are to avoid such calamities.
Use the right tools for the job
When fastening bolts and nuts, always make a point of using the correct tools for the job. It’s usually very tempting to use the wrong ones particularly if you don’t have all the tools you need. If you fall into this trap, you may end up finding it difficult to work with the fasteners in future. For instance, the heads of the bolts may be smoothened, which means that having to undo them will be a problem for you.
In summary, doing a car rebuild or maintenance is a good thing for many people, since it helps them indulge in a hobby. Handling your fasteners in the manner above will ensure that you have as much fun as possible in this regard.
