Date: Sun, 15 Dec 1996 17:04:03 -0500
From: Joe Peck <peck@ss1.digex.net>
Subject: Re: My "Dan Hughes Story" (save that head)
><< ..... I'd stripped the threads on a thermostat housing bolt, then managed
>to *break* a tappet after drilling out the bolt stub.
>
>Save the old head if you still have it. A broken tap can be removed by a
>process called disintegration.
Definitely will save the head - it's got to go back on the B :-).
Thanks for the tip about disintegration. I've already talked with
a friend who owns an auto repair shop. He knows folks that can do
this, as well as restore the threads.
I've already damaged the head a little bit. I stupidly tried drilling
out the tap (duh) before I realized that it's hardened steel and all I
was doing was damaging the softer cast iron head. Luckily it's just a
thermostat housing stud hole and can be made whole.
All this puts me in mind of the best advice I've ever received about
working on engines, given me at my first rebuild by a mechanic at shop
that specializes in LBCs. "Don't cowboy it." His expression for saying
don't cut corners, rush things, improvish tools and patches, etc. In
other words, take your time and make sure you're doing it right.
My adventures with the broken tap, damaged head, and smashed fingers are
all because I didn't have the right size drill bit for that tap and used
one 1/16" smaller than required. It didn't occur to me that the tap might
*break*. Right away the realization popped into my head that I'd
"cowboyed" things with expected results.
Cheers,
Joe
> It's similar to Electronic Discharge
>Machining, but can be done in open air rather than under oil since the
>finished job doesn't have to be pretty. They use a carbon electrode and an
>electric arc to burn out the tap without damaging the casting. Shouldn't
>cost more than $25 tops, maybe less.
>
>Barney Gaylord
>1958 MGA
>
|