The engineering team at industry leader ARP has developed a series of fastener kits to bolster the performance potential and reliability of Ford’s impressive 7.3L “Godzilla” engine. Among them are a head stud kit (p/n 258-4301), main stud and bolt kit (p/n 258-6501), rod bolts (p/n 258-6301) and a harmonic damper bolt (p/n 258-2501). The damper bolt comes with a large diameter 1/8” thick washer for superior load distribution.
Manufactured in-house at ARP’s Southern California facilities, the head and main studs are made of the proprietary ARP2000™ alloy that is nominally rated at 220,000 psi tensile strength. They are centerless ground to assure concentricity with threads rolled (not cut) after heat-treat to deliver up to 20 times better fatigue strength than ordinary fasteners. The rod bolts are also manufactured from ARP2000™ material.
Additional reliability can be obtained by employing ARP’s new flexplate bolt kit (p/n 158-2901). Various OEM underhood fasteners can be replaced with ARP’s polished stainless steel or black oxide-finished 8740 chrome moly accessory bolts (fully 20% stronger than Grade 8 hardware) that come in handy 5-packs by size.
For complete details on these and any other of ARP’s 5,000-plus fastener kits, visit www.ARP-bolts.com. A printed copy of the latest catalog will be provided free upon request. Personalized technical assistance is available by calling 800-826-3045.
This story was originally published on August 22, 2024. 
