[Devillusion]

Well, got the suburban out of the shop...and dragged the K5 in. Got it up on stands and had a look at these starter bolts. Needless to say I would like to track down the moron (previous owner) who "attempted" to drill out the bolts. At least he gave up on the first one....ughh. First one the "idiot" didn't drill straight and got off to the side...he didn't wreck anything TOO badly but try to drill a straight hole where there is a crooked one....good lord! Got it somewhat straight with minimal damage to the upper threads, but the ones near the outside of the hole are hurtin'.

Sooo....my dilema is and would have been regardless of past owners mechanical abilities is that I want to try to drill them out to 1/2" NC, then tap them accorndingly, then drill out starter housing, and put in some grade 8 bolts, and make a better bracket for the front of the starter for support.

Anyone tried this in the past? They seem to be hard on bolts and appearantly the bolts don't fit tight in the holes anymore and there is play in the housing where the bolts go as well. I personally think this would help if there were some tighter tolerances to get rid of any side to side movement/play. Might as well rectify the issue while I'm at it. I don't think the cast should be that hard to tap.

..or hell, maybe even put studs in instead.