Originality
- Thread starter HB Chris
- Start date
I guess the real question is: Why did BMW use fender bolts? Why is a fender bolt dished? I don’t know the answer.
I do know that with the exception of a few cars, fenders almost always use these bolts, so much that they are called “fender bolts/screws”. There are plenty of exceptions, but most cars have painted fender bolts/screws. I don’t know if they are designed this way in purpose, but a fender bolt retains paint much better than a standard hex head bolt.
It sure seems like when you find a bolt on the body with a dished head securing a painted part, the bolt was likely painted also.Does anyone know why fender bolts have a raised lip?
With all that said, I think the e3 didn’t use fender bolts:
On a side note - the front fenders on my 1968 Mustang have unpainted attach hardware (bolts). See pic below.
I had the car restored in 2005/2006.
Before I had my car restored, I was at the 'Mustang Round-Up' in Bellevue, WA to do some homework on who could do the work - and just have fun.
I was talking to one fella who had his 1967 Coupe on display. He and I were talking right when the judges came through to judge his car.
I stepped back and watched the spectacle. The 4 or 5 judges spent 20 minutes discussing what the correct color anodize was for these very bolts and the implications of such highly important features. They got to the point of not only discussing what the color was/should be but also - was it supposed to be flat? Satin? Shiny? Jeezzeee....
The rest of their judging time was equally obtuse... Blew my head right open - and I left the area wondering what I was getting into....
Witnessing that - I made a personal vow to never show my Mustang in any MCA judged show. The shop that did the restoration on my car was disappointed at that (for they would have appreciated the exposure showing my car would give them) - but - they did understand why I would not want to go through that BS.
For my car - I am on the fence with how I will 'show' my car that is coming up on delivery from SFDon... I really don't care about originality (in this trivial way) - but I do want to have fun with the car. Will see how my time with the E9 goes moving forward....
Below - For the Mustang, you can see the before (with fender removed) and after (with the silver anodized bolts shown).
The reason the Mustang has unpainted fasteners is that the hood, fenders and some other smaller body items are painted off the car and then installed. So, makes sense to not have fasteners painted.
I had the car restored in 2005/2006.
Before I had my car restored, I was at the 'Mustang Round-Up' in Bellevue, WA to do some homework on who could do the work - and just have fun.
I was talking to one fella who had his 1967 Coupe on display. He and I were talking right when the judges came through to judge his car.
I stepped back and watched the spectacle. The 4 or 5 judges spent 20 minutes discussing what the correct color anodize was for these very bolts and the implications of such highly important features. They got to the point of not only discussing what the color was/should be but also - was it supposed to be flat? Satin? Shiny? Jeezzeee....
The rest of their judging time was equally obtuse... Blew my head right open - and I left the area wondering what I was getting into....
Witnessing that - I made a personal vow to never show my Mustang in any MCA judged show. The shop that did the restoration on my car was disappointed at that (for they would have appreciated the exposure showing my car would give them) - but - they did understand why I would not want to go through that BS.
For my car - I am on the fence with how I will 'show' my car that is coming up on delivery from SFDon... I really don't care about originality (in this trivial way) - but I do want to have fun with the car. Will see how my time with the E9 goes moving forward....
Below - For the Mustang, you can see the before (with fender removed) and after (with the silver anodized bolts shown).
The reason the Mustang has unpainted fasteners is that the hood, fenders and some other smaller body items are painted off the car and then installed. So, makes sense to not have fasteners painted.
Attachments
I recommend showing your car even if you don't want to ensure your bolts are anodyzed in the correct color. Often you get really great parking, even when you are unlikely to win anything.
BMW judging is mostly cleanliness and condition. You’ll be fine.
On seeing other examples almost identical to mine, I have to agree with Erik and Christopher on this.
This is how it was done at Karmann.
Here's a close-up of mine. The hardware matches Erik's and others, so not all were fender-type screws.
The stop brackets were pushed forward from their former painted positions, but there's no former impression or shadow on the plastic liner...
Plot thickens. I didn’t actually check that they were all fender bolts. They aren’t standard bolts though, and have a clear cavity on the head.
Here is a theory, oxidation is losing electrons, the steel body in contact with the unpainted bolt could lose electrons conducted through it to whatever is inside the trunk that provides the ions. If the bolts are painted they are also insulated and protect the body of the car. To test the theory we would need to show that all bolts that connect to the body are painted...
I don't think a raised lip is necessarily a characteristic of a fender bolt. I think fender bolts are characterized by having a captive washer...
...because they are used in applications where the bolt goes through an elongated hole that is required when fitting a part that needs adjustability (like a fender). I've seen various types of bolts, bolt heads, washers, and finishes.
One thing about originality is that is always possible to justify making exceptions to originality on OUR car
. I don't like painted fender bolts. I think they look cheezy. So I don't do them.
I would guess most of us don't do somethings exactly as they were originally even though we know full well how it was done originally. Panel gaps, as shot original paints, flash chrome, unpolished stainless, wheels, tire sizes, steering wheels, sound system, modern AC compressor, etc. We all have our "must have" originality items, but then we have those that make the car even better (for us) than original. Even if we don't end up doing something as it was done originally, it's still interesting and fun to determine what it was originally.
The community has spoken, I will paint the bolts and washers. I did notice that some trunk support arms have split lock washers and some appear to have wave washers, the parts book lists a Spring Ring which I think is a wave washer but what is pictured in the diagram looks like a split lock.
The stop bracket appears to have no wave washer, I will follow this direction as well.
The stop bracket appears to have no wave washer, I will follow this direction as well.
agree… hand painted on production line….mmmm
