Discussion Forum - Northstar Chevelle Club

FFR has a discussion forum similar to ours. It has been a valuable resource to me (and others) for an idea exchange, tips, tricks, and clarification while building one of these wacky cars.

The only thing that starts to get my goat is there's a surplus of contributors that probably spend more time behind a slide-rule calculating sheit, than just grabbing the part and bolting it on the car.

Case in point (one of many):

There's another builder who is almost running a parallel course as I am. We're literally hours apart in progress to date. He posted the following question:

I'm looking to put the engine in tomorrow. Yeah! I'll be flying solo but should be just fine. Just wanted to verify a couple of torque specs:
Engine mounts to the block
Engine mounts to the frame
Transmission cross member bolts and trans mount
Looked in the manual but not there and not too many threads around it. 

My Reply:

I don't recall seeing torque specs either. I've been wrenching for 40+ years, so I've got what you could call a "calibrated hand". I pretty much only drag out the torque wrench on mission critical bolts such as suspension or engine internals - everything else is mostly done by feel.
I found this chart, it may be helpful - but it is not gospel! Use common sense and "feel". Common Bolt Torque Values

then I posted a list of tips n tricks about getting the engine in the hole - one of them was:

- I picked up a couple of large fender & lockwashers for the mount to frame studs. I didn't like the looks of the supplied hardware and the size of the slot in the mount. (You can just see the top of it at the bottom center)

One of the replies further down...

For the fasteners you are inquiring about I suggest you use a torque chart for the grade fastener you are using (should be using at least SAE Grade-5 or Property Class 8.8 if metric). When threaded into holes such as on the engine block, ensure you have a minimum of one diameter of thread engagement in steel and 1.5 times in alum. Use hardened flat washers with these and install them so that the ID chamfer is toward the head of the cap screw (bolt in layman’s terms). Yes, it does make a difference on the cap screw as the ID chamfer is there for clearance of the root radius under the head of the cap screw. On the nut side the flat washer can go either way. Don’t use lock washers with flat washers – and you won’t need a lock washer or thread locker if you torque them properly AND use hardened flat washers. Using non-hardened flat washers or fender washers that are not designed for high strength applications will lead to the fastener coming loose as these type washers are much more ductile, may deform and relax the preload on the cap screw. This is especially the case if using soft washers over an elongated hole (slot in layman’s terms).


Think of a screw (bolt) as a very stiff spring and when you tighten it to a torque spec you are actually stretching the screw and applying a clamp load. Torque specs are typically established to provide sufficient stretch to keep the screw from coming loose, avoid high-cycle fatigue, and or provide a specific clamp load to hold assemblies together. Using the feel method of tightening critical fasteners is a good way to induce failure. Use a torque wrench and the proper torque to achieve sufficient stretch to keep the fastener tight.

I replied:

"I'll let you know if my engine falls out..."