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Re: screwed...

To: Jeff McNeal <jmcneal@ohms.com>
Subject: Re: screwed...
From: Patrick Baize <speedracre@netzero.net>
Date: Mon, 06 Mar 2000 08:42:58 -0600
Jeff
    I just put the seats in my 74. Because I want to remove them from time to
time , I drilled out all the nuts and welded bolts to my seat frames. Then I
dropped the seats in and from the bottom of the car I used a thick fender washer
and Nylon locking nut.  Now I can remove and install with ease.

THnx
Pat

PS  Gonna get her inspected today !




Jeff McNeal wrote:

> Pardon the abrasive header of this message, but it seems like the most
> concise way to describe my situation.  When replacing my seat rails
> yesterday, I noticed that the PO had drilled an alternate hole in the seat
> track because he busted one of the 1/4" mounting bolts in the original hole.
> Up for the challenge, I sawed off the nub sticking up so I would have a
> nice, flat surface to drill through, which I did with a 7/32" bit, drilling
> through the old bolt. So far, so good.
>
> Next, I borrowed a buddies tap and die set and proceeded to tap a new 1/4" x
> 28 thread.  Then, SNAP!  The tap busted off inside the hole, with no way to
> get it out.  I killed two perfectly good drill bits trying.  Someone
> suggested a cobalt drill bit to slice through the hardened steel of the tap.
> Now, the thing is a real mess and I'm trying to figure out the best way to
> drill back through and retry with a new tap.
>
> I wish there were some kind of jig I could create that gave me the stability
> and precision of a drill press.  Right now, there's no way I can get the bit
> started straight on because of the way the tap broke off.  My plan at the
> moment is to attack the problem from the bottom side this time, using a die
> grinder to flatten off the bottom, before drilling up and through.  Before I
> attempt this, is the broken tap going to be too much for my grinding wheel?
> IS there a simple, clever way to rig up a portable drill press so I can
> drill straight down without worring about drilling crooked?  Or should I
> just say "screw it" and use the alternate hole that the PO drilled, even
> though it interferes with the travel of the sliders?
>
> Thanks!
>
> Jeff in San Diego
> 67 RHD Spitfire Mk3 aka Mrs. Jones
> www.ohms.com/spitfire/spitfire.shtml


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