Not many people realise that the markings on the top will denote lots of information, such as the grades of fastener, manufacturer or even the machine operator. What we have here are some pages that shed some light on what the fasteners are and their tolerances. If you want a concours car, then you need this guide.
These pages are not just for Mustangs, they are for all makes of Ford vehicles which were made between 1955 all the way up to 1973, which just happens to be when most of the iconic Ford vehicles were made.
There is an Adobe Acrobat file that I created that can be downloaded here, or click on the download button below:
Or cut and paste:
https://onemanandhismustang.com/ford-fasteners-1955-1973-2/
Category of Fasteners:
How To Measure A Fastener:
History – About Part Numbers:
History – Chronology of Parts:
History – Quality of Fasteners:
History – Identification & Markings:
External Thread Grade Markings:
Internal Thread Grade Markings:
Glossary:
There were other more subtle things like the coatings used on some fasteners, but for ninety nine percent of people, this guide should be more than enough. For the concours boys out there this should help.
Where are your TY-48 bolts manufactured. Are they domestic or import.
Hi Randy, I don’t have that information in the literature I have. But, knowing Ford I suspect that they made them themselves.