1962 Engine Problem/Head Gasket?

[wjw1741]

First off, I would like to say, that I am not much at all mechanically inclined, but it seems that I am learner more and more each day. I have a 1962 327 all original driver car. Last year I had the entire engine and transmission rebuilt, with hopes that I would never have a fear of being stranded somewhere. I would like to mention that before I had all this work done, the car never left me stranded, but I was always concerned. Anyway, I had the engine redone, it had over 100K miles on the engine, so they had to bore it out to .60 over. I had the carb rebuilt, new radiator put in, pretty much the entire mechanical part of the car was redone. Since it took so long to finish, I never got to drive the car at all last year. I drove it about 10 miles, from one garage to my garage, then put it up for the year. The entire winter season I could not wait.

Finally, Spring gets here. There was a nice 55 degree day, so I thought about taking the car out. It started right up, pulled it out and drove down the road. Got 1.5 miles from home, and broke down. The carb was flooding out and the car would not stay running. This issue would happen several more times before it was corrected. Finally, after 6 more trips of returning the carb to the mechanic, it seemed to be fixed, well, this is where it gets interesting.

Once the carb was fixed, it was running pretty smooth. I drove the car twice around my 'country' block and it seemed to be ok. I decided to take it on a longer cruise. I made it all of 6 miles, when I pulled into the gas station and someone sais that I was leaking something. Turns out it was radiator fluid. It appeared to me that the new waterpump was shot. Well, upon further investigation from a friend that is teaching me about cars, he said that it is pissing from the drivers side head gasket.

Now, when I called the shop that rebuilt the engine, but did not put the engine in the car, they are trying to blame it on the installer. I have less than 60 miles on a car that was completely rebuilt, on an engine that the shop owners says is a really simple engine. Is it possible for a head gasket to go, or is it due to sloppy shop work? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I was really hoping that all this stuff was behind me when I spent all this money redoing the engine. And now the really nice weather will be here soon, and I am with out a car.

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[LVMYVT76]

If the shop that rebuilt the engine put the heads on the block and now the head gasket is leaking, then they should at least look atit and determine if it was their work that has gone bad. The installer did fill the fluids correctly didn't they? Who installed it?

 

[wjw1741]

Yes, they filled everything. Actually, just got a phone call from the guy who installed it. He thinks it may be some gasket behind the waterpump and engine mount. He was able to use a mirror or something to see it better, so it may not be as bad as first thought. It is just frustrating for me since I am at the mercy of too many other people and not sure whom I can believe.

Is there anything that I can do to become more intelligent about this car? Any general books that may point me in the right direction?

Thanks for your help.

 

[JohnZ]

Coolant leaks from the water pump area are not uncommon on '55-'62 Corvettes, especially if the person who installed the water pump isn't familiar with them.

The front motormount bracket (only used on '55-'62 Corvettes) is sandwiched between the water pump and the front of the block, and if it's pitted or corroded in the area where the gaskets are (two gaskets on each side - one between the pump and the bracket and another between the bracket and the block), that joint can leak. The four bolts must be properly torqued, and thread sealer should be used on them, as several of them protrude into the water jacket in the block.

 

[61vette]

John is right on the money,if the person is not careful to check the back of the motor support for rust and make sure the gasket between engine and motor support is aligned it will leak. You can try cleaning as good as possible and put some sealer between the engine and engine support. Then make sure all bolts are tighten properly to specs. It's worth a try before tearing it apart. Good Luck. Ace