[oldopelguy]

Originally Posted by GTJIM I find that stainless studs are best here as they do not have to be wound out of the casting to remove the thermostat

It only takes one head stud pulling loose and ruining a perfectly good VW engine for this lesson to hit home. As a rule of practice now I use studs every time I can, and particular when the threads are into something in aluminum. With a stud you screw into the soft aluminum threads only once, and every subsequent removal all the thread wear is on the stud and nut, both of which can be replaced. Much easier to find another stud than another timing cover or thermostat housing.

Oh, and for the valve cover and small cam covers you might want to check on e-bay or at your local high-end BMX bike shop. Those BMX guys use some super-swanky, high-polish, allen-headed, 6mm metric titanium bolts for a lot of the parts on the bikes. Sure they're $4 a piece or so, but you only need a few of them and you can always say you were "adding lightness" as well as good looks.

Something like item #250197234909, if you want to look on e-bay.