Volkswagen Repair: 71 bug W/ stripped lug nut, wheel bearing grease, penetrating lubricant

Question
Rocky,
I have a 1971 beetle with a stripped lug nut on one wheel. Will I have to replace the drum or can I get something to resurface the hole so that it will receive the bolt and keep it tight ?

Thanks
Kevin

Answer
Hi Kevin;  Sorry for the delay.  I had my computer break, and just got back on-line within the last hour, and have been answering questions as fast as I can.
The answer is yes, but it will take some time, and some luck.  If you have a handheld grinder use it too make the surface level, and smooth.  Once this is done there should be a "parting line" that you can see where the drum ends, and the bolt begins.  Do all of this with the drum off the car.  Use safety glasses too, and gloves, and anything else that might save your body.  Once the surface is smooth, and you can see where the parting line is, make a punch in the center, as close to center as you can and start with successive sizes of drill bit from small, or very small, to larger, and larger.  You will need to use lubricant for your drill bits, so use something thick, and gooey for them, but when you move to the next size up, spray on some penetrating lubricant, like WD40, 3-IN-ONE, what have you....that will help loosen the part of the bolt that is still stuck in the hole.  For the thick, and gooey stuff, if you have something specifically designed for high pressure lubrication like tapping compound that would be ideal, but a dab of wheel bearing grease should suffice, in a pinch.  Be careful not to inhale the smoke, it's pretty pungent, and certainly unhealthy.  Anyway, just keep going up in size, to the limit of the threaded hole, and if you begin to cut into the threads...STOP.  Now, you will need an "easy-out."  The term is misleading.  They are never easy, and they are very hard, and BRITTLE.  They will break off in the hole if you are not very careful.  However, they are cheaper than a whole new brake drum, and they are almost certainly available at all of your local parts stores.  If nothing else Kevin, even if this turns into an exercise in futility, you will get some valuable experience.