I have personally found that the folks who complain the most just want straight answers. Why sweep the issue under the rug?

This may sound silly to some but one trick I've found is to magnetize the drill bit as well as the tap. It won't get it all but it'll get most of it. And like Dave says, when you put that new stud back in, make sure you put some sort of sealant on it, you'll be glad you did in the future.

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Great stuff Dave! It makes me wonder if re-boxing an item can be considered a "substantial transformation" and therefore the present box need not state the country of origin. I only ask this because when I used to work at a mom and pop auto store we switched lines from Raybestos to Wagner, and we ended up putting all the Raybestos parts we had on the shelf into Wagner brake boxes. NONE of the new boxes had the country of origin on them as well the part. I voiced my opinion on this as we were doing it but apparently it is completely legal and therefore hides the origin of the part. To me this practice is completely unacceptable then as much as it is now. When I buy something from anyone I expect to know where it is from. Especially with all the things that have been coming in from China, like lead based paint, bedbugs, etc. See:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2687385/china_milk_recall_2008_unearths_another.html

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2687385/china_milk_recall_2008_unearths_another.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/02/business/02toy.html

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/299925/fish_from_china_yet_another_recall.html

And the kicker for us in the Automotive business:

http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/19/recalls-of-chinese-auto-parts-are-a-mounting-concern/

I refuse to buy anything made in China, and I think that if someone sells something made in China they need to state so in their sales catalogs as well as on the box the part is in and the part itself.

Sounds to me like the threads in the block have stripped and you'll have to have it re-tapped as well as use a larger bolt or Helicoil it. I hope not, and I've never heard of this happening on a Packard before. I've had bolts break but never strip out of a block.

Same difference meaning Hyundai uses a lot of Chinese parts in them, I know because I've been rebuilding one in my driveway for the past few weeks.

Same difference. My point is that we own antique American cars, not foreign ones.

To put Chinese parts on a Packard is to pervert it's design and corrupt it's performance.

The point I was making with that statement is that we're all Packard owners on here, and if we wanted a car with Chinese parts in it we would have started collecting Hyundai's, not Packards.

What's that like to drive with the pedal in that low of a position?

I find it offensive that people pay a 300% markup expecting a quality part and instead get something made in China. I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels that way.

+1 on Kevin's Copper Gasket spray, I've used it many times and have had great luck with it.

As for Pat Green's post, I'd think that anyone with a minuscule shred of intelligence would know that 740 lbs-ft of torque on a 5/16" diameter bolt is a physical impossibility. But then I do know that not all of us on here are hands on mechanics with an engineering background like some of us are.