<VV> Stripped plug hole

[FrankDuVal]

Swarf? Not an issue! It's aluminum. Just crank the engine over (start on 
5 cylinder) after the operation and blow the swarf out. Done it many 
times with the KD inserts.

If I'm getting heads welded, it is to fix dropped valve seats.

BTW, Danny Otey in Roanoke used to use 18mm plugs in Corvair heads many 
times for repairing blown out plugs to keep the cars on the road. We did 
lots of things back then to keep people driving Corvairs when they were 
cheap transportation. ggg

I called Champion a few years ago and talked with someone for the proper 
18 mm washer gasket type plug to use in a Corvair, and after the 
laughter, got an answer. Posted somewhere on Corvair Center Forum.

Frank DuVal

On 1/18/2020 5:41 AM, Hugo Miller via VirtualVairs wrote:
> Are you going to attempt this in situ? A 7/16 drill is going to kick 
> out a heck of a lot of swarf - how are you going to contain it? A more 
> permanent solution would be to pull the head off & get it welded & 
> re-tapped? I've often found that you can spend more time faffing about 
> with shortcuts than it takes to do the job properly from the get-go. 
> In my opinion it would have been better to have all the threads 
> helicoiled or fitted with steel inserts from new. That would be a 
> permanent solution. These heads must all have had the plugs taken out 
> & re-fitted (and probably over-tightened) dozens of times over the 
> last 50-60 years, so many of them are bound to be worn and/or weakened.
>
> On 2020-01-18 03:46, Smitty via VirtualVairs wrote:
>> It’s been a few days since I raised the subject, so here’s an update.
>> Just as a reminder, the hole I have was repaired with what appears to
>> be a KD insert which failed and pulled out.  Next a repair was
>> attempted using what appears to be a BigSert.  It also pulled out.
>> Not condemning anyone or any product.   it just is what it is. So
>> doing some research on line I find there are many types of repair
>> inserts for huge holes.  BigSert being my repair of choice I quickly
>> found out that wasn’t going to happen.  Price for a set of tools and
>> an insert was between $600 and $900.  I finally hooked up with the
>> Thread kits Company in California.  Talked to a gent named Gene on the
>> phone, who took the time to discuss the problem and offered several
>> options.  I chose to use the EasyLock insert at a cost of around $10 .
>> The big drawback for some folks would be the tools to prepare the
>> hole.  In my case a 7/16 drill would be required (not cheap), and a
>> 3/4 x 16 tap (not cheap) .  Just happened to have those.  I ordered
>> the inserts today.
>> I’m not one who gives testimonials easily but I just had to give an
>> attaboy for Gene and the help he gave me on this project. Smitty