Flywheel bolts

[CJH]

Yeh only jokin on the fake post...

Well I could pretend I knew that all along, but I'd googled it before I spotted your smiley. Bolt faking is a thing!

Seems fine to me Chris - if you wanted a degree of confidence. After all, none of these smaller parts places make bolts - they buy them in. Even VW does. You can pay WAY over the odds for nuts and bolts in some places (B&Q for starters and theirs are hardly quality bolts). I stopped doing that a long time ago, but I do go to people who specialise in them.

Get all mine from one of the biggest wholesale fastener places in the UK (Kebrells). I trust them and they seem to supply just about everyone else down the supply chain. Never caught them out on any weird bolts sizes or thread pitches but you do have to buy quite a few if you go in on foot Every new bolt I've ever fitted in the last 10 years comes from them. Fit and forget.

http://www.kebrell.co.uk/socket-screws.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - any use?

Thanks Ralph - yes, like Ian's supplier, one person's trusted local supplier is someone else's mail order supplier, and for a good many traders ebay is just a convenient alternative outlet for their mail order business. I think that's the case for the supplier I used this time, as he also has his own website and a physical premises.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not complaining about the cost of the 'proper' item. £7.80 for 5 from Brickwerks is a good price (unlike the £5.50 each from VW Heritage and similar prices elsewhere). But I was motivated to look at these longer bolts because it seems that the short length of the 20mm originals makes them rather rare. I guess that's possibly down to the recommendation that the mating thread ought to be 1.5 times the bolt diameter, so a 20mm M12 would be limited to clamping something only 2mm thick.

[CovKid]

I'm probably spoilt in Cov as there seem to be quite a few businesses left over from the car manufacturing days with specialists everywhere. Theres also an excellent bearing place tucked away at Foleshill - and not a chocolate one in sight. Use them I say. If you don't, they vanish.

Found a brilliant second-hand tool stall on Bedworth market recently - all old-school British made stuff. That guy has got me out of so many messes, I make a point of buying something from him every week. My drill burnt out and he had an all-singing all-dancing one for £10. A good man to know and no competition from the local tool shop which only sells Chinese stuff.

I'm always getting flack for not putting all my eggs in one basket when it comes to buying spares but I know whats good and like to support local business as much as I can. There are some amazing places and at most, a 5 min drive.