Head back on

The head is back on. I've used a Percell copper-aluminum head gasket from Burtons with copper adhesive spray this time - let's hope this combination will solve my oil leak woes. Installation is a two person job, and an awkward one, with the engine in the car.

So, what went wrong? I don't know. The head and block were both checked and looked perfect. But I did find that 3 bolt holes (in the block) had a substantial amount of oil in them. My guess is the Cometic gasket (stainless steel / composite) allowed oil to weep between the head and block.

I spent about 7 hours cleaning the the block and front housing. An exercise I do not want to repeat...

Here we are today:

Made guide pins

The plan is to put the head back on this Friday. I made some mounting pins by cutting off the heads of the old bolts and filing the edges.

UPDATE: Be careful what you read online. Whoever suggested cutting the old head bolts, to use as guides, has given some bad advice - they aren't long enough to remove! Long wooden dowels from your local hardware store work perfectly.