im always amazed that people can strip out the cheesehead bolt.

that style head has the highest torque rating of any of the bolts that will fit in that location (hex head, allen head, cheesehead) which means they really need to f*** up to get it wrong.

tap the bit in before wrenching!

 

V2, you gotta believe me. I gave it a tap. It even turned a little with two resounding clacks. I then even made sure the bit was seated nicely. Turned again and MUUuuuuuush, it rounded right out.

Now about the "drilling the bit out".
I used my corded DeWalt drill and the toughest bits I had.
It made a complete mess out of the head of the bolt. It just spread out
So after that I had my guys at Gerber Motorsports help out.
They ground off the rest of the head with a super-duper pneumatic drive with a hardcore grinding bit.

So I learned my tools weren't tough enough to do the job right.
Make sure you all have enough awesomeness in your tools before you try to grind the head off or you make make a bigger mess.

That being said, I will try to be more careful as well.

 

I disagree, Cheesehead, Torx, Allen head all suck! Don't agree with me, just try taking something apart in a cab of a Mack truck.

 

Hey Stanker,

For future reference, you should have been using a Cobalt drill bit 5/16". Titanium will not work. You should also drill at a slow speed and spray the bolt head with a little WD40. You should see small chunks of the bolt being removed. After a little bit, you clean out the debris and go back at it. It should have only taken about 20 minutes.

 

Thanks for breaking that down StoogeMoe.
I think I'll get that drill bit and try a test run.

 

Update
- Major exhaust components have arrived. Little pieces inbound
- Heat shields cleaned. Misc surface rust contained
- CV Joint removed and cleaned. Boot kits inbound
- Intake manifold removed today. The cylinder head is next

 

Joey, is your old cat section for sale?

 

Hicks, so glad you asked.
It's pretty rusty, are you sure you want it?
I was gonna junk it.

 

UPDATE
Today the cylinder head came off.
There is a lot of cleaning to be done but I am officially now on the road to putting it all back together.
This is gonna be great!

 

Keep posting. Great progress.

 

Would you see what shipping would be? It doesn't need to be boxed, just wrapped up and a label stuck to it. If you don't mind....

Everything looks good. How are the cylinder walls?

 

The cylinder walls seem smooth as a baby's bottom.

 

I pulled the cylinder head because I had a gasket to go underneath it.
After removing the intake manifold I saw a huge leak on the existing gasket.
I also found a 1/2 pound of leafy dirt junk all around the engine.
This experience had been an eye opener and I would suggest everyone that has not been this far in to do so.
There is a good chance that the PO that sold you the car didn't want it and treated it with a matching level of respect.
I've been renovating a ton of things I was driving around with and the car is now gonna be reliable as opposed to a liability.

 

Great going Joey! Hang in there...and thanks for the pics! Now it will go as good as it looks!

 

UPDATE
- CV Joints installed
- Water pump removed, new one inbound
- Gear wheels removed and front seals inbound
- Old hoses cleaned and the broken replaced
- Old hose clamps and elbow replaced with new
- More engine cleaning performed
- Head cleaned