head gasket gone on badboy

[badboy]

discovered last night head gasket has decided to let go half way through restoration so unless they are pence to repair i will have to loose all my money that i have currently spent and walk away by selling the car on for spares or repairs as don't want to throw more money into the project.
lost enough pennies as it is and wasted time
completely gutted and   !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
the car has a good shell
a new petrol tank fitted
will take some photos and add to the forum this weekend  
any suggestions?
bob

[K666STW]

Headgasket is nothing. I did mine in a weekend with at the time no mechanical knowledge what so ever. Don't let something relatively minor like a HG put you off the car.

[badboy]

just read a few threads and hadn't realised blown hg's are a common fault
will talk to my mechanic pal to price up rather than walking away might be worth spending a little bit more to try and get more back
copper gaskets are mentioned as are jobs like changing head g without taking engine out so will have a look in morning and let you know what happens.
also read about relocating thermostat and also about taking stat off completely
can't see how this helps - can anyone explain how not having a stat can stop a car from over heating

[fiatmaluch126]

Hi, regarding thermostat removal- an old man told me years ago that a car doesn't need a thermostat only for heating, and removing it allows the water to flow around the engine freely and no overheating. He always took it out in the summer year on year. Also, he was ex-WWII Mechanic so he must have known what he was doing! Hope this helps! Regards David.

[K666STW]

Aye when mine went, I did it with the engine still in. Also fitted a copper HG at the time, I left the thermostat in but recently took it out when it jammed shut.
It's never overheated since barring a few moment near the end of the drive from Fife to Rugby and again getting back near Fife from Rugby.

[nrg19uk]

From what ive read The thermostat was put in the wrong position as a design fault. Basically it was put at the end of cooling circuit instead of the beginning, which means the engine temp gets hotter than it should before the stat opens not a problem when it's new and responds well but when the stat gets old and tired the engine temps just keep boiling! There was a kit available to relocate the thermostat but it wasnt cheap.

[thepuddlejumper]

My dad removed the stat as he said it only takes a few more mins to reach operating temp.  His argument was it is there to get the engine up to operating temp quicker. Never had any overheating probs.

Ralph

[badboy]

i will take on board every ones advice and off with the stat 
which is the best thread for details of the rebuild for example torque settings etc
mechanic wants to keep price down so will attempt whilst engine in place
does anything else need changing at the same time?
what is the difference with the copper hg?
do they cost more / are they worth it and where would i get one from asap?
bob   

[compo1970]

Hello just one more thing for your answers.
I had a bis that kept blowing head gaskets in the end i had the head skimed then refitted new gasket and never had the problem again.
the thing with the bis engine is that it does overheat with the stat in and this is more than likely going to worp the head so if i were you for what it costs get the head skimmed first and do the job only once.
Cheers Paul...

[ciaoflyer]

I moved the stat to the top of the head with a kit and fitted an overide fan switch and now it never gets hot and no overheating if fact my engine has never overheated.