head bolts 1725 aluminium head motor

[ringtrev]

Hi there fellow Rootes enthusiasts, first post here goes:
Hillman series V1 gazelle 1966,40000 miles from new and have just replaced the head gasket due to weep from it causing overheating. the change all went well until I went to retighten the head bolts only to strip one of the threads in the block!
My question is: is this common?
My fix will be to take off the head again use a helicoil in the stripped thread and reassemble.
Can I ask what is the head bolt size ? I think 5/8 UNF 18tpi?
Has anyone rethreaded and used a double ended stud in place of the bolt? would it be wise to replace all the bolts with studs?
Hope there are some answers/thought out there...Thanks Trev

[bratfink]

I'd stud it at this stage. And while you are at it you might as well get a set of good ARP head studs. I don't know what size it is specifically but I am willing to bet they'll have something that fits. It is defiantly a fine thread, I rememeber that much. I can check tonight and get back if you like?

At this stage you want to limit the number of times you are turning a bolt in and out of the the repaired thread, so make sure that stud is in there good!

Is it a corner post or one of the middle ones? If it's a corner post maybe just stud the 4 corners and leave the rest as bolts.