Update: The heads are off and ready to go for checking/skimming.
That's it? Oh, if only dear reader. The first 19 head bolts came out a treat. The LH head was off Sunday morning. Odyssey came round and we shared ownership tales of coolant loss and head gaskets. He left about lunch.
This evening at 16.55, four and a half days later, I got further.
Bolt number 20 decided to mess around with my head. It was the one at the back of the RH head which lives just below where the heater pipes come through the bulkhead. And it started to round off. Right, need to make special Tool No.1 to try and keep the socket applying downward pressure onto the bolt head. Monday evening saw the fabrication of ST No.1 but it was a failure. I had already pre-empted some woe though and had ordered a new deep socket from Hebay. It'll be here Tuesday or Wednesday.
Tuesday didn't fill me with glee as the postie had passed our house by. "I'll check the approximate delivery date again" thought I, but logging onto my purchase history on Hebay found ...... nothing. No sign of said socket being bought. But I've had an email from Paypal. Checked the email to find I had indeed paid for it, but what I'd missed on Sunday was that No.1 son, the first in line to the family overdraft, had been logged into the Hebay when I did the clicking thing....and the socket was being delivered to his girlfriend's flat.
She lives in London. bu99er.
Once the mushroom cloud of my ire had subsided, No.1 son informed me that she was driving up on Wednesday anyway and would bring it with her. This was a lie but No.1 son went behind my back and drove halfway to the moon to meet said girlfriend and retrieve my socket.
Last night at 10.15 he returned and presented the socket to me. No time like the present. And still no good. Right, sleep is for wimps.
Plan B: use an assortment of drills from 4mm - 10mm, weaken the head and shear it off flush. Lots of careful drilling ensued but the head refused to shear. Sleep came at 02.45 this morning.
Screwfix happened at 16.15 this afternoon and having been relieved of some cash at bayonet point I was presented with a shiny new set of Irwin broken/rounded/generally knackered removal sockets, the largest of which is 16mm.
A judicious application of caffeine and nicotine was followed by a 'crack', a loose head and the remains of a head bolt that could be unscrewed by hand.
I will sleep well tonight and tomorrow plan to verily skip to the head sorter-outerers.
Update will follow.
(Also noticed the sun seems to be out longer and stronger since my cloud generator has been parked up. Coincidence?)