Blown head gasket de-confirmed

Per my post yesterday re my '64 Daytona convertible, I pulled the left head
fully expecting to see a groove in the head gasket and maybe the head and
block. No such thing. The exhaust valve on five looked a little strange,
almost like it was cocked a little. So, I pulled it- seat very rough and
obviously not sealing. I can't be sure, but it looks a little bent. Three
had a rough seat too and both valve guide seals were rock hard. Both valves
were set properly so I'm puzzled as to why they are poorly seated. Anyhow,
I guess I pull the other head and have the valves ground (putting in new
valves on three and five). That way I'll have new valve guide seals all the
way around too.
The car had a cracked left exhaust manifold too replacing it was part of the
job of pulling the head. The cap screws holding it to the head were
extremely tight. I had to stand on a breaker bar to loosen them (can't
believe none broke off). The manifold crack had been welded, but poorly.
It broke in two when I got it loose. After I pulled the manifold I got to
thinking about the gaskets used. When I looked, I found absolutely no trace
of gaskets, not even on the pipe flange. Apparently some dummy put it
together WITHOUT gaskets.
Damn, I'd like to buy a car once that didn't need any kind of work. This
one was so nice, but... Kind of spoiled my weekend plans.
Paul Johnson

Paul Johnson wrote:
> Per my post yesterday re my '64 Daytona convertible, I pulled the left head
> fully expecting to see a groove in the head gasket and maybe the head and
> block. No such thing. The exhaust valve on five looked a little strange,
> almost like it was cocked a little. So, I pulled it- seat very rough and
> obviously not sealing. I can't be sure, but it looks a little bent. Three
> had a rough seat too and both valve guide seals were rock hard. Both valves
> were set properly so I'm puzzled as to why they are poorly seated. Anyhow,
> I guess I pull the other head and have the valves ground (putting in new
> valves on three and five). That way I'll have new valve guide seals all the
> way around too.
> The car had a cracked left exhaust manifold too replacing it was part of the
> job of pulling the head. The cap screws holding it to the head were
> extremely tight. I had to stand on a breaker bar to loosen them (can't
> believe none broke off). The manifold crack had been welded, but poorly.
> It broke in two when I got it loose. After I pulled the manifold I got to
> thinking about the gaskets used. When I looked, I found absolutely no trace
> of gaskets, not even on the pipe flange. Apparently some dummy put it
> together WITHOUT gaskets.
> Damn, I'd like to buy a car once that didn't need any kind of work. This
> one was so nice, but... Kind of spoiled my weekend plans.
> Paul Johnson

Don't be too hard on whoever worked on that car, at least SBC's never
had exhaust manifold gaskets from the factory.

nate