Head gasket replaced but have questions.......

Posted by Mark Stivers On 2012/5/31 6:47:50

Well....it isn't easy wrestling with that L8 head on my 51 400 but I came out ok with the exception of some lost skin off my knuckles and a bruise here and there.....I was wore out ! I have to torque everything this afternoon. Ran out of daylight to finish last night.

Anyway.....the head gasket was totally blown out between the third and fourth cylinders going from front to rear. That is the exact place where the compression was blowing out around the head nut as I had mentioned back in a previous post. I did find that my #8 cylinder spark plug was totally fouled out with what appeared to be oily sludge. Is this indicative of a ring issue ? All the other plugs were dark but not fouled. Is this indicative of a ring issue in that cylinder ? I'm not sure that I have the right plugs either. Any recommendations for a quality plug to use in this 327 ?

I also found that there was no thermostat in the water neck either. Anyone have a compatible part number to get at a local parts house ?

I am excited to get this back on the road since it's been over a month since limping it home.

As usual, all replies, info and ribbing is encouraged ! LOL

HotRod