You are correct about bolt vs nut - it was a nut.

This took place in 1965.

I bought several cars from best friend's father - he worked as a body man at a Pontiac dealer - he bought several cars foe 5 or 10 dollars before they went to the auction. He once took a 54 Ford and cut the entire body off with an axe and a small sledge hammer, The only stuff left was the bumpers, radiator bulkhead, floor, front seat and firewall. He used it as a tractor to haul firewood.

I actually cut apart a 26 foot travel trailer that (was stripped out by a car lot owner) with an axe and a small sledge hammer and put the pieces in a dumpster that was in my yard for a roofing project. A guy named Scrappy John took the aluminum skin, window metal, frame, and axles.

An anecdote - I was taking a new girl to see Goldfinger when the engine went POW and smoke came out of the grille and front fender wells - she asked - what shall we do? I replied - Hide behind this tree and watch. Needless to say, the date was busted.