Soooooo
I am installing the exhaust manifolds today, using the nice little copper coated exhaust nuts from Bel Metric and at the point the self locking threads encounter the stud, the stud just starts turning.
Little effort to pull it out and the stud is clean, no material in the threads.
Now mind you that these heads have just been rebuilt and fixing exhaust studs was on the to do list and the cost was substantial to me.
Then the fireworks went off...
As the great poet Eric Burdon said in the song PC3
"I rattled so long
And rattled so obscene
The ground did shake
And disturbed the Queen..."
This is the motor in my Notchback and it has taken too long to squeeze that puppy in there so this fix is going to be in site.
Is it an optical illusion or are the studs at an angle? ie not perpendicular to the ground?
I ordered some EZLOCK solid inserts and I will make a drill guide that will bolt onto the other stud.
Apologies to the neighbors