[GB SISSON]

Thanks! All great input. I worked on my door project and my wife went to town and brought 3 cans of gunk and a six pack of beer (without me asking) ... I had kept the main bearings in the block and caps after plastigage to keep them sorted properly but today I pulled and labled everything for the big scrub. Also pulled the oil pump gear from the block. As I feared the slot head plug in the rear of the oil gallery stripped in the slot even after carefully sharpening a large screwdriver.... The plug is just below flush with the block's surface, so thinking I will dish a washer with a ball peen hammer and weld it to the plug, then weld a nut to that. Maybe use an allen head plug to replace them? I sort of worry about the welding heat, but I also remember old guys saying they would melt out a broken stuck in a block with the torch and hit the air to blow it out and the threads remain intact. Welding on a nut should be far less worrisome than that.