progress.... sort of

Well, my buddy Guy had some progress in getting the last three broken studs out on the 110hp block.

The first one came out fairly easy once centre drilled.  Looks like the threads are still intact and should clean out nicely:

Number two, not so much.  The centre of the stud hole doesn't always line up exactly with the threads, so he stopped working this one with the end mill until we can decide if we want to re-tap the hole afterwwards:

I tried using a large EasyOut bit but the last of this stud won't come out and I'm wary of damaging the remaining threads.  I've filled up the hole with some home-brew penetrating oil and will let it sit for a couple of days to see if it will loosen up before trying again.  I think I might be able to use a tap and just clean it out, but I'll wait for now on this one.  This is likely the worst of the bunch.

Number 3 was the most interesting result.  Using an EasyOut, Guy backed the stud out carefully, but unforuntately it brought most of the aluminum threads with it.  It was stuck in there real good:

Now, the beauty thing of all this is that all 3 holes are salvageable.  There is enough room left between each of the damaged holes and the cylinder bores to insert either a Heli-Coil or TimeSert thread repair.  They each have their strengths and pricing differences and from what I've read they each work well (click the links to check them out).  I kinda like the TimeSert method better, just seems more permanent.  This will mean cutting new threads on the end of the replacement studs with a sharp die to match the repaired holes, but that is common practice and an acceptable repair for a conversion.

If I can't get the number 2 one out cleanly, it will be easily removed during the drill/tap/insert process of the thread repair.

I'm stoked this is going to work and I can use this block for my engine <grin>.

On another note, I've added a running total time log on the lower right of my blog page:

One of the things builders like to keep track of is the amount of time spent on parts of the project.  I've broken things down into basic groups and will try an remember to update it regularly.  I considered purchasing a commercially available program like KitLog, but I prefer this blog format.  The 25 hours showing under Engine is just a rough guess and doesn't include non hands on time like time I've spent online and in person looking for a core.  I might consider breaking the chart down further, but I'm happy with it for now.

Next step, research where to purchase TimeSerts.