BB767

I've look in the archives and don't see anything about this. It turns out the 2 screws (12-24 thread) that secure my '66 convertible top rear locating/latch pin on the drivers side...









...are stripped. Is the best way to make a repair...



... to drill the stripped holes out and use a HeliCoil to restore the threads back to 12-24? That frame material is aluminum. Would you recommend using blue Loctite to secure the HeliCoil in the aluminum frame?

Thanks everyone for your help.

Thomas

Avispa

If the thread holes in your conv. top bow aren't wallowed out bigger than the suggested bit size for the Heli Coil tap, yes, they would make an excellent repair. There is no need to use thread locking compound on the repair inserts - they hold themselves in place by spring tension (they're wound so that they are slightly larger diameter than the threads before they're wound into the newly threaded hole). If the inserts are too long for the metal thickness of the conv. top bow, you can cut the inserts to size before installing them. Cut from the back end - you need the break-off tab left in place to be able to use the insertion tool.

I've used the exact same size thread repair inserts on my Holley 3310 fuel bowl screw holes. On a recent rebuild, all the thread holes in the carb main body stripped when I installed the front fuel bowl. Thank God for Heli Coil!!!!

BB767

Thanks Richard for reinforcing what I thought would be the best way to do that repair. I've been using HeliCoils for over 40 years to save parts.

Since the top bow was aluminum I was unsure how secure the HeliCoil would be. It's pretty common to see HeliCoils in old Muncies with aluminum cases. Back in the day some drag racers routinely drilled out the aluminum threads on their transmissions and used HeliCoils insisting that with the steel thread insert it was stronger than the stock aluminum threads.

Now I have to make a drill stop so I don't drill through the top bow into the cloth top!

Thomas

pewter50vette

had one hole that was stripped out was able to tap out to 1/4-20 it seems to be holding ok , was going to use heli coil but tried tapping out first maybe worth a try ?

BB767

Thanks Don, that's a very good thought and I'm glad you brought it up.
I want to minimize how much metal I remove from the stripped area. I've measured the stripped holes and looked at a drill/tap chart to see if I can just tap the present hole for a 12-24 HeliCoil without drilling them out any more and I think I can.
Since the top bow is aluminum and fairly soft metal the drill size for the 12-24 HeliCoil is just about the hole size I have right now so I think I can just tap it as is.

I will still do a careful evaluation before I remove any metal and see which options make the most sense. Thanks again.

Thomas