[s-cars] Head bolt replacement -- can be done

[Jim Jordan]

Hi,

I didn't post to the Q list because of a screwy email problem.

I had an alcoholic monkey lad in Kingman, AZ, strip out ~4 head bolt holes
using an air gun instead of following the prescribed Bentley way.  He didn't
remove the coolant from the holes and hydraulic lock caused the threads to
strip.  I was stuck there a long way from home and really felt I had little
choice.  I was beside myself and I wasn't a pretty sight.  Cooler heads
prevailed and they wound up boring larger holes in the block, tapping them,
installing larger bolts, drilling and tapping them to the head bolt size,
and reinstalling the head properly.  

I would have bet $10 to a bottle of s__t that the fix wouldn't get me out of
the Kingman city limits.  That was 13 years ago and it's still running
strong.  Compression has always been good, etc.  I always wanted to be there
where the next guy removes the head and sees the work around.  

BTW, it would have cost less to haul my car back to California to get it
fixed, but then, my guys in California probably wouldn't have fixed it that
way.

It can be done.  

HTH.

Cheers!

Jim Jordan
81 5KT > 334K miles