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Is it general practice to replace all the head stud bolts as part of the engine overhaul (64 BJ8)? If so, where are people buying their stud bolts? I don't know the condition as the head is still on the block but I was going to place an order soon. Thanks for your help.
John
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Hi John,
I think it's a matter of how tight you are, how much reliability you want, & how willing you are to gamble.
All cyclically stressed parts are subject to cumulative fatigue failure. 40 to 50 years of this stress, you just don't know how much life is left in the parts. Inspection will not usually show pending fatigue failure.
I make it a point to replace head studs, connecting rod bolts, main cap studs, flywheel bolts, & a few others when doing a rebuild. Anything that might cause a disaster if it fails. Of course, the matching nuts & hardened washers as applicable. Despite the apparent extra cost, it is relatively cheap insurance against a disasterous failure. I don't want to take the chance.
I get quite a few parts from Denis Welch Motorsports:
https://www.bighealey.co.uk/catalogue.php?id=1
As others have said, ARP has a very good line of high strength fasteners if you can find what you need.
Back to my first line. It would be good to search out the parts & know exactly what you want to do before ordering, even if it takes a little longer.
D