I am finally at the point where I am going to pin the rocker studs on my ported 416s today, I pick up a drill with a 3/32 bit, and go to work. The stupid bit barely left a mark after more than a minute of drilling!!! Later today, I had to go to home depot to pick up a bottle of pure acetone for something else, and I pick up what the home depot guy told me were the strongest grade bits they carry. Supposed to be for stainless steel. Get home, start drilling, and while this one left an imprint on the head, it still won't do anything noticeable. My question is this... what kind of drill bits do you guys use?

The only industrial supply store around here sells cheap tools, so I am going to stop by tomorrow to see what they have, but I doubt it will be worthwhile.

 

I'm pretty sure machine shops use some kind of heavy duty drill press. I wouldn't even think of using my drill on iron heads, even though it's the most powerful one I could find. Sorry if that's not the answer you wanted

 

smaller holes are easier to drill. Start with the smallest bit you have n work your way up.

 

is your drill turning the right way? cast iron is about as easy to drill as anything.

 

Cobalt. ,,,,Kind of like putting a Chevy engine in a mustang,,"lower E.T."

 

That would be to funny.

 

thats about the only thing i can think of too..

the heads arnt that hard.. ive never pinned studs, but ive drilled the holes in the front for accessories before.

 

Just a regular high quality drill bit, some cutting fluid, and a lot of elbow grease will get you through all 16. Drill at a medium speed with a fair amount of pressure. The studs themselves are way harder than the cast.

 

Why not just put in screw-in studs?

 

Well I finished pinning the heads, and it turns out that my problem was a combination of two things. The first bit I had tried was dull, so it was useless basically. The new bits I had bought were fine, its just that I had left the drill in reverse from something else I was doing...

Anyway, sometimes I had to be reminded of the obvious, like taking the drill out of reverse.

 

Kinda reminds me of Toad in American Graffiti showing off to Candy at the stoplight.

 

five7 i bet most of these guys here aren't old enough to remember terry the toad. only reason i ever heard of him is some of you old guys talking about the movie.

 

I am.

Opps, did I say that out loud?

 

HAHAHA That was too funny!

 

not sure i'd of admited to that, but it is a good point to bring up that sometimes the answer is often the simplest thing that gets over looked

 

HEHE!

I was gonna suggest you bust out with the hammer drill.

 

I remember Terry the toad, American Graffitti was one of the best car movies ever. ...But, you left the drill in reverse??!!

 

get some good, hardened 135deg split point drill bits.... http://www.usatco.com/

 

My question exactly. I mean drilling those must be hard as heck... What kind of pins do you use for that? Will it really hold those studs in?

 

As I am sure you can tell, this is my first time pinning heads, so I don't have any personal experience on the matter. I have however done my share of research, and there are numerous people on this board (F'BIRD 88 comes to mind for example) that have done it for years without any problems. From what I have read, it is just as good for a mostly street motor, so it isn't going to be high rpms constantly. On top of that, its going to be a tpi motor, so its not like I am going to be shifting at 6000, but well below that. I recently got engaged, and I am trying to save money while I finish my last couple of semesters in school. Whatever money I can save by doing work myself, I will most probably take advantage of. If it weren't for that, I would have bought myself a set of aftermarket heads instead of spending countless hours porting a set of factory castings. Not that there is anything wrong with that, its just that theres more work involved than I have time for.

I used roll pins, 3/32". $2 for a pack of 100 from a wholesale company online. Only need 16 of them though. I have come across several posts and articles online where guys are running carbed motors past 6500 rpm without any issues.

I had called several machine shops to ask how much they would charge to install screw in studs, and the prices were higher than I expected. Two shops actually recommended pinning the studs rather than installing a set of screw in studs given my application.

 

I understand trying to save money, as I am doing the same thing. I have a set of heads I was going to re-work... they will still need to be milled and have new valve guides put in, but I am now thinking of pinning my studs, just to save some money.

How hard is it to drill the holes, once you got the right bit and everything... have they gone pretty easily?

 

You can't drill them fast or for too long, because you will make the bit dull. I went very slow, so I took a while, but I was afraid of breaking a bit in the stud. You just need to have patience. The roll pins don't go in easily in the sense that you can just slide them in. You need to tap them in with a hammer, and as you are putting them in, you can feel that it is a very tight fit. Overall, I'm happy with the result.

Buying screw in studs isn't expensive, you can pick up a set anywhere from $20 - $40, but you have to buy a couple of tools if you want to do that yourself. Not sure if it would take much longer, but it doesn't sound like its less work.