Earth bolt under Rad snapped....
Discussion
The problem with any appreciable heat in that spot is that you are likely to burn and severely weaken the fibreglass. Before taking the Body off route that is major in time and money it could be worth one last try with a centre drill. In the past when trying to release a broken bolt I found that ordinary drills only seem to make things worse by heat hardening the bolt end and they inevitably break. Try a carbide centre drill just to get a pilot hole in the bolt end and use coolant, water if nothing else available If you manage to drill a small pilot try the next size drill and so on only taking a small amount of metal off at each drilling, dont rush and keep a steady hand. Best of luck!
Once again, many thanks everyone - the TVR community is absolutely fantastic - this has to be most friendly and helpful car communities out there.
Before I admit defeat, (and get a TVR specialist involved) I'll try and expand the 3.5mm bore that's already there with drill bits of smaller increments than my friend used - July is always a really quiet time for me work wise, so time isn't an issue for me at the moment. I think perhaps he lacked motivation to do the job because, well, it's not his car...
One method of removing rusted bolts that I've had some success with in the past is drilling a fairly hefty size hole in the bolt (at least 3/4 the diameter of bolt, preferably more) and hitting the outer shell of the existing bolt inwards with a screwdriver etc, this sometimes (if you're lucky) collapses the bolt and you can pull the bits out with needle nose pliers - this removes the need for a tap, if you're lucky...
I guess I want to keep the body lifts etc as an absolute last resort - I don't want to open another can of worms - I think on an old TVR, even the worms have their own little cans of worms
Before I admit defeat, (and get a TVR specialist involved) I'll try and expand the 3.5mm bore that's already there with drill bits of smaller increments than my friend used - July is always a really quiet time for me work wise, so time isn't an issue for me at the moment. I think perhaps he lacked motivation to do the job because, well, it's not his car...
One method of removing rusted bolts that I've had some success with in the past is drilling a fairly hefty size hole in the bolt (at least 3/4 the diameter of bolt, preferably more) and hitting the outer shell of the existing bolt inwards with a screwdriver etc, this sometimes (if you're lucky) collapses the bolt and you can pull the bits out with needle nose pliers - this removes the need for a tap, if you're lucky...
I guess I want to keep the body lifts etc as an absolute last resort - I don't want to open another can of worms - I think on an old TVR, even the worms have their own little cans of worms
I can see your thinking on this, even a body nose flex (if it were to work) might result in the other bolts snapping if the condition of that one is anything to go by. I think I'd be trying to drill it out then bolt remover tool to wind out the remains.
It's a really difficult one if you haven't got access to welding kit too.
It might be that if you succeed (without a body lift of some sort), you plan and budget for a body lift in the future, because it might be an inevitable job for you.
Question to the other folk too - imagining Davinator does get this bolt out, can he use a two ended bolt, with a view to having a secured fixing to the chassis, but then a more accessible end for the earthing?
I think the earth strap on the back of my engine block has one of these.
It's a really difficult one if you haven't got access to welding kit too.
It might be that if you succeed (without a body lift of some sort), you plan and budget for a body lift in the future, because it might be an inevitable job for you.
Question to the other folk too - imagining Davinator does get this bolt out, can he use a two ended bolt, with a view to having a secured fixing to the chassis, but then a more accessible end for the earthing?
I think the earth strap on the back of my engine block has one of these.
I do have a pretty big mig welder and know how to weld to an acceptable standard (I learnt to weld because I had an old X1/9 years ago - it was the best welding practice there is 
) and I'm not afraid of wheeling it out (making sure there's a bucket of water and a fire extinguisher close by) but what would be the be the best thing to do with it? Just weld a washer on the end of the bolt and leave it at that?
) and I'm not afraid of wheeling it out (making sure there's a bucket of water and a fire extinguisher close by) but what would be the be the best thing to do with it? Just weld a washer on the end of the bolt and leave it at that?I've already moved the earth cables to the lower anti roll bar bolt - these bolts came undone without any trouble, I've made and extension using 3 X 30 amp wires with ring connectors from the existing earth wires to the lower anti roll bar bolt... If I can get the old bolt out, I'll put it back to how TVR intended.
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