Diameter of factory bumper bolts?

[z71se]

What is the diameter of the heads on a factory bumper bolt on a 73-80 truck? I bought some from ebay, from lmc, and none of them match the shape and diameter of the ones that were on my truck. The LMC ones were especially ugly--tarnished "stainless steel" while the ebay ones are really pretty but the heads are a bit too wide.

[TKCR]

I believe what your looking for, you can get here: Another option, is to sandblast your original hardware and polish the heads.

http://www.usa1industries.com/1981-8...-bolt-set.html
http://www.usa1industries.com/1973-8...-bolt-set.html

[Dead Parrot]

I would try to clean up that rusty one with a wire wheel on a drill. The dome part looks in good shape.

I found some replacements at Pull-a-Part from a truck with a wrecked bumper.

[z71se]

Guys in the end I had my chrome guy redo the few originals that could be salvaged, and I went to the yard and got a few more so I have a couple spares. I removed the tin covering from all the bolts, and then he chromed the bare bolts. Now, the bolts look original and the chrome matches my bumper perfectly. I'm happy!

[z71se]

This is what the nasty bolts looked like before they were blasted, chased, and chromed:

[TKCR]

Those turned out good too, just like the seat bezels. Where did you send these off to? I had always heard that rechroming is expensive, is that the case? Thanks for posting an update!!

[z71se]

Originally Posted by TKCR

Those turned out good too, just like the seat bezels. Where did you send these off to? I had always heard that rechroming is expensive, is that the case? Thanks for posting an update!!

Chrome is insanely expensive these days! There are very few chrome shops left in CA that can chrome properly (triple chrome method) due to environmental laws making chemical disposal more and more expensive. From what I read online, CA isn't the only place in the country that's expensive when it comes to paint/body, chrome, resto work in general. To find a "cheap" shop you have to live in an area that has an insanely low cost of living, little to no environmental regulations, and those areas don't usually have a vibrant job market. Anyways, I paid $140 to triple chrome 18 bumper bolts (did extras so I have spares) and the 3 medallions. I thought that was a bit high, but I appreciated him doing such nick nack little work for me. For reference, he charged me $350/ea to do the bumpers, although that did include pickup and delivery and he's 60 miles away.