Bolt pricing, high? or am I just cheap?
 

On Friday I picked up another engine for my car. Today I decide that on my way to work, I'd stop at the local True Value Hardware, and I'd pick up 4 bolts to bolt the motor to my engine stand. I'm pretty sure the thread pitch for a Miata bellhousing bolt is 12mmx1.50. I was looking at like 90mm long bolts. $4.10 a bolt? Really? $16.40 + tax for 4 bolts? What gives?
I said F this and I walked out. I checked at work for the bolts, cause I'm that much of a cheapskate scumbag...can't find ANY in that "fine thread" pitch. All we have is 12mmX1.75.
I am still thinking about being a super cheap-o and buying like 1" long bolts (under $1 a piece), cutting the heads off and then welding them onto longer standard thread bolts that I have at home already, for free. Then I think..."just spend the extra $12 and get the correct bolts the first time".
I just think paying more than $1 for a bolt that's only going to hold an engine to a stand is absurd.
Would you guys just drop the $16?

Yup, they're that expensive. That's actually fairly cheap for such a big bolt. Things that make hardware expensive:

Metric
Stainless steel
Chrome
Polished
Hardened.

If you're really cheap, find an equivalent standard size bolt and write that price on the bag, they're usually a good 50% cheaper. That's technically theft though.

Also, the prices are on the lid, look at the next row down, and "accidentally" write that price, if it's cheaper.

This is all of course to try and "fool" the cashier. You could always write $.10 for everything and probably get away with it, or stuff smaller hardware in your pocket, but I have my limits.

Also, I bet miata salvage operations like TSE or FM would sell you an entire transmission bolt set for cheap.

Another tip: don't buy polished SS Allen head hardware, throw the cheaper regular stuff in your drill press and go to down with some fine grit sand paper for 5 seconds, them some Neverdull for 10, and finish with a polishing rag for 5 seconds. Voila, polished bolt for cheap.

12x1.50 is a super oddball size. That's why it's so expensive. Use the bolts from your transmission or buy a set from 2nd Chance Roadster or The Parts Group.

12mm comes in 1.75 (coarse), 1.5 (medium) 1.25 (fine) and 1.0 (ultra fine)

None but the 1.0 are all that rare, and my local auto parts place carries them in limited supply. The local HW store has quite a selection. And yes, bolts that size are fairly expensive.

This is why you hoard bolts every time you go to pick-n-pull. So you don't pay 16 bux for 4 bolts

A woman goes to the bank to deposit $10,000. The cashier is impressed, and asks, "Did you hoard all this money yourself?" She answers, "No, my sister whoard* half of it".





*yes, it's spelled wrong. Damn censorship!

you mean like, WHORED?

After probably 3 years of buying 2 packs of metric fasteners at the local lowes/home depot/ace/tractor supply/etc. for outrageous prices, I FINALLY found a hardware store about an hour away from me which sells metric fasteners in BULK..

What's even more impressive than that?

They sell HARDENED METRIC FASTENERS IN BULK.

I'm not kidding when I say they've got an aisle dedicated to bulk metric fasteners - I was in heaven. This was the first time I've ever been able to buy metric nuts and bolts by the POUND and not by the bolt. Prices were basically identical to their SAE counterparts in the next aisle, I don't recall how much of a price increase there was on SS fasteners, but my eyes about popped out of my head when I saw how little the price increase was for class 10.9 hardware - I bought probably 5 pounds of hardened fasteners in common sizes and various lengths for less than $15, and a big organized clear plastic box of common sized class 8.8 hardware (maybe 8lbs worth in the box) for probably another $10 - The phrase "Kid in a candy store" was definitely applicable to this situation.

For those living in central Ohio, you're looking for a store named "Rural King" in Marion, right off the route 23 exit. The best way I can describe the store is like: Wal-Mart got Tractor Supply drunk one night, and Rural King popped out 9 months later.

What type of engine stand do you have? If it is the harbor freight one, you can cut the 4 black pegs that go from the arms to the engine shorter. Then you can use standard transmission bolts.

I used to have a garbage freight from, but I sold it a while ago, cause I had that and the one I still have now. I didn't have the need for 2 engine stands anymore...
I'm probably just gonna spend the coin...cause on Friday night I spent $44 on just beer at dinner time, so what's $16 on a few bolts?

i don't do this ever...https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1338474693

There's a reason that I have a 30 lb box of misc Miata bolts from half a dozen parted-out Miatas.

Go to a farm store. Farm and Home sells metric nuts/bolts for 4.99 a pound. I buy them by the handful and keep extra in their respective storage bins.

Just for shits, I swapped every visible bolt on my bike, and even some non-visible ones, with SS hardware. I made about three or four trips, spending roughly $40 each time.

Having a miata "race" car really helps. Every lightening project adds to my hardware drawer.

I was just at Lowe's and I thought, "Im buying these bolts right now...screw it." They have the standard 12mmx1.75, but the next pitch is 12mmx1.25? Is 12mmx1.50 that rare?

1.5 is less common, for sure. 1.75 is coarse, 1.25 is fine. There's also 1.00 which is ultra fine, and is fairly rare these days.