miked

Does anyone know of a source for the 5/16x18 'clip nuts' for the lower front shock bolts? They clip into the shock hole of the lower control arm. I think they are also used for the rear upper mount bolts.
Thanks

jfb

I have had good luck with napa or carquest and i have replaced all hardware with each job and this is a good idea since they are so old. do not go to a chain store autozone advance etc they have very inconsistent quality there.

miked

Hey 66luvr, thanks for the quick reply. Do yours include the bolts? If so I would like 2 sets.
Thanks much!

Allan R

Mike, I bought a set of those to do my car. The repro's aren't anywhere as good as OEM which I ended up buying from a guy on this site. The repros are not a true spring clip and bend out of shape pretty easy. Once they have the shock nut through the bolt they're ok. It's just the hassle of trying to hold the clip in place while threading the bolt!

oldcutlass

You can go to a fastener, or bolt store.

jeffu231

I picked up this set when I was ordering some other stuff for mine. They seem pretty decent, but I have not got to the point to use them yet. Seems like Ground Up is more reasonable on parts than some of the Olds vendors and good for the universal stuff.


http://www.ss396.com/mm5/merchant.mv...ry_Code=SHOCKS

joe_padavano

Dorman Products P/N 700-526, available at most auto parts stores:

http://www.dormanproducts.com/p-11280-700-526.aspx

Note that these are the one-piece formed clip nuts, not the original style with the separate nuts swaged into the sheet metal clip. I prefer these because they are less likely to spin out the next time you replace the shocks, but they are not correct for a proper resto. Use lots of anti-seize in any case.

Allan R

I like the look of those! I see the bolts also have the lock feature on the bottom of the head. Great link and thank you.

Also available from AMK

Octania

I have purchased some of the generic J-nuts only to find that the J is too long. When in place, they prevent the shock from going past. I guess you can insert shock most of the way, then put the J nuts on, then finish the job.

PN 391359,
NUT, 5/16-18 NC J-Nut; NUT, shock absorber
Secure fan Shroud to Support w/ 9780422 Screws
ALSO used at front lower SHOCK MOUNT per 68 AM.
New PN 339715 per Dealer 8.29.06, also Disco'd 1/04

I have the dimensions in a photo bucket pic I think
However, the site is absurdly SLOW and I will never be able to wade thru the photos to find what I wanted
Ah here's one
6357_68-442_J-Nut_A0frtshoxlower5.jpg

I have a box of GM similar fasteners, but they are METRIC, with the bolt having a small 10mm drive hex, so if the above Chevy Repro parts are a deviation, these would be a great deviation.

miked

Many thanks to everyone for your suggestions! I didn't have any luck with my local stores for anything other than the j-type. Chevy dealer only had the j-type and as Octania said they would block the shock hole so I went ahead and ordered some repops from InlineTube. Will let you know how they work out. Joe I'm keeping the Dorman number handy..thanks.

Big red72

I just got a set last week from inline-tube for I think 10 or 12 dollars. 4 clips and 4 bolts...VERY good quality...cannot tell from OEM. They do business on ebay as well under the name motorcity musclecar, or visit inlinetube.com. I have bought several things from them lately.....very nice stuff.

Allan R

LOL, wait till you try using them to install the shocks. Those suckers move around. I bought the exact same ones. I found the tensile spring part of the clip wasn't that good on 2 of them.