John,
Thanks for you reply. The covers I got are the only part of the tensioner kit that was missing and are "used" covers from a Carerra that PO gave me to fill the gap (he threw in the tensioner kit with the engine sale). They have the holes for the tensioners to come through, but don't have the temp switch holes (the reverse of the original '83 covers that have the holes for switches and not tensioners).

I dropped the covers off at a new machine shop today...machinist said he thinks he can tap straight through the old threads to straighten out the alignment, due to the threads being very coarse. I'll let everyone know what happens here.

Garrick,
Thanks for the offer, but unless the covers have the tensioner holes predrilled, I am not interested. I am certainly afraid of trying to get a perfect hole drilled for the tensioner to come through due to the exacting tolerance that is required there. I have my old set of covers and would not want to attempt that on those. I appreciate the offer, though.

-Ed

Thanks guys,

-Ed

those covers are available thru pelican i'm pretty sure, for not a lot of money.

Yeah John, but I just gave Pelican all my milk money for the week on two large orders, and am trying to stay under budget on this restoration. I'm sure I won't and that's why I'm trying to make it work with the existing covers or a suitable used set. I have my fingers crossed on the new machinist.

Thanks again,

-Ed

I would hold the original machine shops feet to the fire. They CAN be fixed, and properly. The only possible hitch is that it may cost more to fix them than to replace them, thats the shops problem. I would insist that they fix, or replace them or go to small claims court. Almost any material can be drilled out, patched, welded and remachined. The work should result in something better than the original and look good to.

You might suggest to your new machinist that he do what is called a spot face. The idea being to create a flat perpendicular to the hole. Spot facing is a common practice on for mating/sealing surfaces on castings where bolts or pipes enter. Good luck. I hope your ordeal is over soon.
david

Thanks for all the suggestions.......The ordeal is over! I picked the covers up from the shop today and the owner got them to seal.

He said that welding was not necessary.

He set up his press to run a new tap down perfectly perpendicular to the cover and through the existing threads, only shaving a few thousandths or so of any individual thread. Switches go in straight and tight with a perfect mating surface at the sealing washer.

Owner of other shop that does horrible work has not called me back yet..........

I appreciate all the advice,

-Ed