Bolt-on BS

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Bonusbuilt.com explores the fallacy of the "bolt-on" kit

Tell me if this sounds familiar: You are browsing through the latest (insert your favorite parts supplier) catalog and see a part you simply can't live without anymore. You are a weekend mechanic and fear that the installation of your new part will be beyond your skill level. You have a decent collection of tools and decent abilities. You don't weld, or have access to a welder. You like to "do it yourself" so the idea of hiring a machinist, weldor, or mechanic doesn't appeal to you. You read the ad carefully and see that it is a "bolt-on" installation. Feeling much relief you call the 800 number (or visit the website) and order the part. A few days later UPS brings it to you and you eagerly rush out to the garage to install it. Your excitement quickly turns to disappointment and anger as you realize that you can't simply "bolt-on" the part. You have to alter the part or your truck in order to use it. This probably includes large scale disassembly of something or it involves use of expensive tools you don't own...yet. They didn't warn you about this. You are pissed off.

If this hasn't happened to you, it will. The term "bolt-on" is one of the most abused and misused terms in this hobby. By definition, it means is "you put this in with bolts". What we assume they mean, in addition to that, is that you don't have to modify anything. You just put the part on and attach it with bolts. We assume the "bolt-on" part will be easy to install, but "easy" is a relative term.

I bought a power brake kit once that was supposed to be a "bolt-on". In reality it was a "grind away 1/4 inch by 8 inch section of steel, then clamp it in place and pray it doesn't move while you drill some large holes in the frame, then bolt it on". Yeah, it bolted on but only after about 3 hours of unexpected preparation that the directions failed to mention. Ask me about bad directions some day. In actual practice, the installation would have been stronger if it welded in. I received an email a while back from a guy who complained about his "bolt-on" electric window regulators. Yes, they did install with bolts but the requisite disassembly of the door doesn't equate to an easy installation.

I even got nailed once for improper use of "bolt-on" in reference to a rear end. As you may know, 68-72 F100 rear ends are perfect for F1 trucks. I called it a "bolt-on" and somebody corrected me (rightly so) pointing out that the axle tubes on the F100 rear are much larger, requiring new mounting hardware. Oops, my bad.

I think what they really mean when they say "bolt-on" is "no welding required"--but it can still be a pain in the ass. Remember who is telling you the part bolts on, and why. They're sugarcoating their language so the part sounds easy to put on so that you will buy it. I think if it's a good part people will buy it no matter how it installs, but people are just going to be more frustrated when they have to chop and grind their way to bolting on the part, especially if it is costing them more money along the way.

Here is my advice when installing any parts, especially if you have bad directions: Carefully plan the project in your mind or on paper. Visualize each step or draw pictures if you like. Think it through and see if their directions make sense. You can even get under/in the truck and run through the directions while you're looking at whatever you'll be working on. You can catch a lot of potential problems that way.

No matter what you do, you will get burned once in a while. Be careful and think things through and it will be infrequent. If you have had a particularly good or bad experience with "bolt-on" parts, why not share with everybody. Visit the product review forum on our message boards.