head gasket failure causes sought

My head predates that procedure.
Just this afternoon I started it up and it ran like crap. HG seems blown again. Compression test tonight and might start parting it out tomorrow.
 
Better update this. HG was not blown again. Bad running on start up was from me forgetting to reconnect the CTS. Idiot. Bottom line is my timing was still not good. Last week I heard some pinging again and just retarded the timing a tickle by feel. So the current situation is running extraordinarily well, smoother on the highway then it's ever been and pushing 33mpg. I suppose all last year I was trusting the crank pulley marks too much for timing (now proven off by about 4 degrees) and not my gut response to engine performance, running too much advance until the situation was just wrong and "pop" goes the gasket. Plausible?
I'm a little hesitant to celebrate because I thought I was in the clear many times before but man the commute in today, mix of 80 on the highway and city stop and go and it just seems very happy now. Can't wait to fill up and check my mileage but it should be darn close to 33. Running temperature seems a little better overall too. Too bad the poor girl is rusting away faster than I can make it run well!
 
JimD said:
;)
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Well, during morning commute if you're not running 80 you'll be run OVER. On a Sunday afternoon it's closer to 70 average speed. My speedo is bit optimistic though, probably closer to actual 75. Someday I might look for overall top end, been a LONG time since I pushed it that high.
 
depends on where you are

if you are doing 80 mph near detroit you will get run over by passing cars.

:)


odie

1979 long term b16 project
 
HEY! That's how I "timed" my engine, too. I could NOT find the timing marks on the flywheel, so I turned the dizzy til it seemed to run the best.:thumbsup: I think it needs to be twisted just a little (like it's owner :wacko:) because the exhaust smells pretty strong on deceleration and my mileage is only about 29 mpg. I've used my GPS to calibrate my speedo and it reads about 5 mph slow. I've had the needle on the speedo buried at about 5000 rpm which I figure is about 80mph. The front end shimmies that fast and I usually back off pretty quick:snail:. I think it's the tires doing it.
 
I remember in 1995 I was driving somewhere in Illinois with my then girlfriend at the passenger seat. I was doing 90 in her BMW 535 i in a extremely packed highway, where every other driver was going as fast as me. I was almost all the way thinking ¨My God, if somebody makes a mistake, this is going to be a thousand cars crash...¨
 
Perhaps you can do a rolling restoration of the bodywork, and prevent critical structural parts being compromised.

The 78 X that I restored and modified in 1995 (Veeery fast) developed a longitudinal crack in the left front section of the unibody that I thought was terminal. My bodywork expert friend welded everything back into place, but I still felt insecure, for which I sold the car, explaining to the buyer the little fix I had just done. This happened to a car that was absolutely perfect in all other respects.
 
I have been, and will continue to attack rust as I go, someday maybe I'll buy a better body (or more likely a nicer example), until then, I just enjoy it as is.
 
Good news!

Average speed around here is still only 65-70. My X1/9 speedo is definitely optimistic - and gets progressively more so over 70....
 
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