fcabarle

The outer seat belt bolts on my '63 are rusted solid and the hex socket is rounded. This must be a very hard bolt because I tried to drill it and got nowhere. I'm afraid to heat it because fiberglass melts. Someone out there please tell me how I can replace these bolts. :nonod:

ghostrider20

You could try a reverse drill bit and start drilling down the center of the bolt.

If after a while it does not come out, just go to the next bigger bit, and so on.
Worse case you drill it all the way through.

It may spin out after you get a couple of runs drilled. Since the bolt is toast no big loss other then time.

You could also try grabbing it with a vice grips and putting pressure on it as you are drilling it.

Some penetrating oil may help, but in an application like this with poor tool interface, you may not be able to get enough torque on the bolt to make any difference with penetrating oil. As you mentioned the heads are stripped.

Mark

2 Ag R8Cs

I am not familiar with the 63, but if you can get it on a lif and get to the nut you can use a nut splitter. I'll see if I can find a picture of one. If there isn't a nut and if it goes into a threaded hole you might want to try and easy out. It involves drilling a hole through the center of the bolt then using a reverse threaded bolt to tap into the hole.

fcabarle

Thanks for your replies. I did attempt to dirll thru the bolt but it is a very hard steel and the drill bits did nothing, absolutely nothing, to the bolt but it did wear the bit! I tried to get behind the bolt to see if there is a nut but that didn't happen either, whatever is back there is above the frame and it is hidden by the frame and body. No way that I can see to get up there. I suspect there is a bracket holding a nut because of the large rivet heads in the area of the bolt. I am really ready to put the torch to it!!! Is there a special drill bit that will go thru very hard steel? :smash:

2 Ag R8Cs

Here is a picture of an ez out this is a small one they come in all diffrent sizes. you drill a hole then tap the ez out into the hole


go to the store and get a special bit, try carbide or whatever the store can reccomend as their best bit

Jimbo64

Saw a nifty tool at Sears that may do what you need. It fits over the rounded head on a bolt and bites in when you try to loosen it. Can't remember what it is called but seriously check out the Craftsman tool section in sears and maybe tell a salesperson what you need to do. Looked like a great thing to have. Let us know how you make out. J :cheers:

kellsdad

On my 63 coupe, the outer seat belt bolt passes through a hole in the frame and screws into a nut welded to the inside of the frame rail. When I tried to remove my bolts, one of them was stuck so hard that it broke the weld holding the nut to the frame. I believe I got to the nut through a small access panel at the front of the rear wheel well. I suggest you try that panel and see if you can get some WD40 or penetrating oil on the nut and bolt from inside the frame rail.

2 Ag R8Cs

Maybe you can find someone with a lift near by That would make things easier.

58Mike

Just an FYI: Remember when drilling metal, you want to keep the drill speed low. At high speeds, you'll actually get slower progress and the heat will wreck your bit pretty quickly.

- Mike Greene

2 Ag R8Cs

A little bit of oil can be helpful also

65again

there is new type easy-out on the market now, a combination left hand drill and easy out, made to be used in a hand drill, just reverse the rotation on your driil and when you get past the drill point portion of the tool the easy out part of the tool grabs and removes the bolt. I would however exercise some patience and start out with a liberal appliction of Kroil or another good penetrant, and while youare waiting tap on the bolt head every once in a while, the vibrarion seems to help.

65again

there is new type easy-out on the market now, a combination left hand drill and easy out, made to be used in a hand drill, just reverse the rotation on your driil and when you get past the drill point portion of the tool the easy out part of the tool grabs and removes the bolt. I would however exercise some patience and start out with a liberal appliction of Kroil or another good penetrant, and while you are waiting tap on the bolt head every once in a while, the vibration seems to help. I'm sorry, but I can't remember the name of the product, however I believe they are sold at Sears

Kid_Again

yeah, i'd reiterate what was said earlier...you can not get at the nut with a splitter because it is welded on, or is part of a retainer plate, and the nut is 'WAY back behind the frame rail

...IF you can get enough penetrating oil to loosen the bolt and IF you can get it to turn, the nut may have broken it's welds - to get at the nut, i cut an old wrench head off and welded it to a 10" long piece of 1/4" rebar and grabbed it that way - what is it, 5/8" 11/16"?????? not sure now

JF244

I've got the same problem with my 67. Both of the bolts have the hex slightly rounded to the point that it is impossible to achieve sufficient grip to break the bolt loose form the nut. And then...


Every once in a while I tell myself to leave well enough alone but noooooooo, I gotta try to fix those silly little things that most people would never notice. Now I've managed to break loose the weld for the nut on the right belt and now I have a torn up bolt and a nut up in the frame that I can't get a grip on.

Well, I guess I have all winter to work on it, along with a million other things that never get done.


:smash:

durango63

FWIT I had the same problem last week and I tried many of the previous solutions. Unfortunately, none of these worked for me. Also unfortunately, I have always believed I have not been using a big enough hammer. I finally resorted to using an air chisel, at which point the seat belt anchor broke lose from the bracket holding it in. Once I could see it I realized there was no was any other way I could have removed it. Then I had to remove the bracket it was attached to. With a little bending using vicegrips, I was able to remove it. I then used a dremel to remove a 3 inch circle of fiberglass from around the area where the anchor was located. Using a bolt with the same threads as the anchor bolt, I welded two nuts together and then welded the nuts to the frame where the anchor was located. I left the bolt in place to keep the threads clean and to keep the nuts from distorting from the heat. I fiberglassed the area and it is almost as good as new. It may be bubba (probably is) but it worked for me. I hope this helps.

Howard

LouieM

One possibility might be drilling out the rivets that hold the bracket into which the seat belt bolt screws. That might give you enough wiggle room to somehow cut/knock the bolt head off the bolt. Or, cut thru the fiberglass around the bolt and push it outward to get rid of it (fish it out of the frame, probably). Then, glass in a new metal plate with nut on the INSIDE of the passenger compartment. This bracket would hopefully be hidden by the carpet (can't think exactly of what a 63 looks like there) and just the nut woult be visible, but behind the seat belt end piece. Just my $0.02, but we are getting desperate here.

2 Ag R8Cs

How about a dremel tool. Use a grinder bit to grind a hole in the center, You will probably go through a dozen bits but I bet it will work as a last resort.

bk2w

Another item to consider in Sears' toolbox is the Bolt-Out. They look much like socket wrenches, but have spiralling cutting edges on the inside, instead of simple flats. They can bite into the sides of a rounded-off and rusted-on hex bolt and let you allpy the torque eneded to get them out. Sears also make impact wrench versions, if you have one. If you don't have an impact wrench, you might want to get one, since they can make removing difficult bolts vastly easier.

Cheers and good luck,
-Brian

Jimbo64

brian, agree with everything you say about sears tools that fit over the rounded heads. I would soak it down good with Kano Labs KROIL Penetrating oil and let set for a day, then try the the impact wrench with the tool that fits over the rounded edges. Might save yourself a bunch of work. Only problem with easy-outs if you break one off [they are made of very hard steel] you can forget drilling it out. good luck and let us know what ends up working for you. Interesting thread. :cheers: