A recent thread on steering shaft seals brought up some great hardware store solutions http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=801859 so I thought I'd ask HAMBers what other good things they've found from the local hardware store. I have to confess nothing pleases me more than coming up with something satisfying made from brackets and bits from my local ACE hardware. Just this morning I used an Adel clamp from ACE to secure a line to my frame, and I've made many air cleaner adapters out of PVC.
Any well stocked ACE store is a treasure trove for hot rodders. When I'm working off sight at someone else's shop, the first thing I find is the local ACE store. Grade 8 hardware, grade 8 set screws, sheetmetal bearings for steering columns, Addel clamps, Stainless hardware, the occasional metric bolt, bronze bushings, etc.
Yes...We just got a new Ace store 3 miles from my shop two years ago. Didn't take long to get on a first name basis with the store owner. Love that place
Also True Value hardware... Bought #14 stainless sheet metal screws to mount my mirrors there. Also Lowe's has an okay selection of automotive fasteners and hardware in their bins. I used a brass 1/8 NPT 90° fitting for my fuel pump. Had to drill out the passages to match the NPT's ID. Also use a lot of the aforementioned line clamps, both bought at Lowes.
Ace Hardware is about 3 miles from my house and I have bought many boxes of stainless steel nuts,bolts & washers not to mention all the other odds and ends,spray paint and drill bits. HRP
I bought a V8 powered 49 Chevrolet with a trans crossmember from Orchard Supply Hardware. he cut a foot out of the middle of the original crossmember and replaced it with a piece of 1x1 angle iron and two nuts/bolts. angle iron still had the bar code on it. wouldn't really call that hardware store Hotrodding, but rather a hardware store hack job.
Same here. I'd be standing in the plumbing isle holding something and they'd say "What brand of toilet do you have?" and I'd say "1938 American Bantam". Huh? After a few hundred rounds of that they just leave me alone. Problem is, when I do need to fix a toilet I can't get help to save my life.
That's funny I know what you mean... I just tell them where I'm going when I walk in. The new guys are a little iffy when I start digging through the bolt and screw bins. I grab a paper bag and start writing item numbers and prices down as I go. After the first time they see the Olds pull up they know what's going on. Great folks to deal with! 28
New owners of the ace close to me are from the middle east. they watch you like you are there to cornhole their goats..
Ace is cool, but Lowes is almost as good. They have those drawers full of hardware with grommets, stainless screws, clips, etc. I've even used 2" galvanized plumbing pipe hangers on exhaust pipes.
We don't have a local Ace anymore, it is now a Gil-Roys with the motto "Gil-Roys got it" and they do. I bought 9/16 jam nuts there for a set of four bars I was building. I've only been able to stump them once or twice when looking for something odd.
My Ace used to carry these straps in 1/2" length increments. Man they were handy, I had a bunch in every length. Now I have to make 'em, whimper whimper.
McFadden-Dale in Las Vegas, NV has it all - from 10-32 button head stainless screws to lengths of 4130 - an everything in between. Frame brackets, weld bungs,wiring goodies, etc. And cool T-Shirts. When I go back there for the NASCAR races I take my list - I haven't found anything like them in NM.
Try McMaster-Carr.com. They are an industrial supply company, that I have been using for about 40 years. If you haven't seen their catalog you won't believe it. I always purchase my hardware and dozens of other products from them. You will be on their site for hours checking out hot rod related stuff!
Yes!!! Not exactly a "hardware store", but they have everything! Just make an account and go to town!
I miss the True-Value that we used to have in my hometown. Ace is alright though, and ditto on the fuel and brake fittings. Every car we've built has hardware store brass fittings on it. Long live local businesses.
Good for non standard hardware but I need a place where I can stop what I'm doing, hop in the car, got get what I need, be back on the job in 20 minutes and exchange it if I need something different all in the same day. Orchard Supply around here has a better selection than our Ace.
I think I go to Ace for parts more often than I go to O'Reillys. I always get brass fittings and tubing there.
i have a True Value and a NAPA under the same roof...2 blocks away from home ... ... they know me on both sides ...cant be without it ...walked there more than once over the years ..
Now that's comprehensive! Our Ace used to have grade 8s in bins, then they remodeled, squeezed the hardware section and now they are in those little pull out boxes. You slide the box out, open it, find the size you need and there's like one, if you're lucky.
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