Ok, I've got a mess on my hands it seems. I'm replacing my Y-Pipe (stock) and basically had to break the studs off the manifold - they were very rusty. So, I did, got the old Y off, and now i'm struggling with my self induced problem. I've tried to drill out the first one, which seemed to be going ok, but the drill walked on me and my "wall" thickness on the mounting hole in the manifold outlet is next to nothing (this is on the outside of the hole, thank god). So i basically have a U shaped slot to slide a bolt into which i'm afraid may not hold. So, here are my questions:

Stock output is studs and not bolts right? So i couldnt heat these things up and bang it out with a hammer..... (?)

Since I have my "U" mounting now on one of the holes, do you think this will work? Mind you, I have a welder, but i've never used one (dont ask) - I'm thinking i could just weld a bolt into the "U" maybe....thoughts?

I'll be carefull drilling down the center on the next 3, my thoughts are, cut off stud w/ Zip wheel, drill small hole, drill 3/8" hole. Any corrections on this process?

Oh, and to avoid questions on why I'm not just pulling the manifolds and getting headers - i've been working on this car for 6 months, just to get it "roadable" - my thoughts were, keep it stock, get it on the road, then put a 350 in next year. FYI, this is a 305 Tune port, 87 auto.

Thanks for any help.