VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1912-1928 Need to identify this bolt

Hi all,

I'm disassembling a '28 block that I picked up last weekend (thanks to Dick Olson and Bill Barker for getting it to me!).

The water pump is held on with two regular hex head bolts and two bolts that have slanted hex heads. What the heck!!???

I've never seen these before. What kind of tool do I need to take out these bolts?

I can think of two solutions:

1. Use a dremel tool to cut a slot in the head so I can get a screwdriver in the slot.

2. Cut off the head and then remove the bolt after I take the water pump off.

Suggestions welcome!!

Thanks, Dean

If it is shaped roughly like an american football, I have some sockets like that in a cheap set so suspect if you look at a tool catalog you can find something.

I've had good luck by hammering cheap undersized metric sockets onto really nasty bolts and it can work very well. Just use a sacrificial one.

Dean,

Can you grab it with a set of vise grips?

I also found that if i used left handed drill bit you can drill the center of the bolt. Many times this alone will drill out the bolt out of what ever its in. If you do manage to drill a hole into the bolt then you can use an easy out to get the bolt out.

If you have a Harbor Freight (i referred it as my disposable tool store) you can purchase an inexpensive set for your one time use.

Happy Wrenching

Try using the corner of a cold chisel, & hammer it out counter clockwise. When it starts to move you can use vice grips. Works for me every time...
Andy

Thanks for the ideas, guys.

The head is tapered, so I can't grab it with vice grips. It is soaked in PB Blaster for now and I'll will work on it in a couple of days.

Will keep you posted.

Thanks, Dean

Center punch...Drill a hole maximum size..E-z out with a rachet

I like driving on a socket the best and maybe by grinding the head a little would help. If all else fails then slip a large nut over the head and weld it to the head of the bolt. That will give you a good hex to work with.

Update: The strange tapered hex head bolts were originally regular hex head bolts and they rusted symmetrically towards the center of the bolt, thus making the taper.

I noticed that one of the bolts had just two of the six sides rusted and they tapered in towards the center of the bolt. Check out the pics below.

So, I ended up drilling a 1/4 inch hole in the center of each bolt (they are 3/8x16 bolts), cut of the heads with a 4 inch grinder, pulled the water pump off, and used a straight, 4 sided easy out to unscrew the bolts.

I first tried an easy out with spiral flutes, but it did not do the trick. With the square easy out, I was able to put a cresent wrench on it, and while trying to turn the bolt out, I hit the end of the easy out with a hammer, thus shocking the bolt into turning. Again, see the pic below.

Cheers, Dean

A little out of order, below is a picture of the rust buildup that was behind the water pump. I vacuumed it out before taking out what was left of the four hold down bolts.

To go to the '28 engine resurrection thread, click here: https://vccachat.org/ubbthreads.php/topics/386514#Post386514

Cheers, Dean