Two weeks of penetrating oil and the busted stud would not budge. I drilled it out some more and used a centerpunch to collapse it in. In the process I hammered the punch between the stud and the hole, the nut is D-shaped and split on the thin side. I cleared the hole and tried another bolt in it. I was able to tighten it some, so I may use it as is, or could add a helicoil. I removed the hood to go over the hinge bolts. The restoration shop decided it would be a good idea to tap the threads and assemble with their standard shop bolts. I was actually there while the owner’s son was doing this. The owner commented that the guy that dismantled it neglected to tap the threads and they were having a hard time getting the bolts in. I mentioned that I had the special bolts for it, but they wanted to use their bolt then, and use new bolts after paint. I should have known better. I still haven’t found the original bolts. Now that I have the hood off, I see they tapped it out to 5/16-18. The shoulder bolts are 5/16-24. These tapped holes are in a bracket that is rivetted to the hood. I could buy 6 helicoils and use the shoulder bolts. This hood hinge has Three 3/8” holes for the shoulder. The shoulder bolt kit I purchased has one 3/8” for each side and two larger for each side. I would need to get 4 more 3/8” shoulder bolts. I picked up some 3/8” spacers that I can cut to length to use on 5/16-18 bolts and make my own shoulder bolts. I tapped the spacers to 5/16-18, and cut to length. Now I’m attempting to paint the under side of the hood when it’s not freezing outside. I was in a hurry and painting a concave surface. The drips really showed up after I applied black. I decided to use some sandpaper, 100 grit was a lot of work so I had some 60 grit. It shows the drips are from the primer. I sprayed more black and the 60 grit scratches show. I used the 100 grit to knock those down, and more black. This is all new to me, I’ve watch a couple videos and know I can get it looking fairly decent.
