Head gasket on right side blown on my 56-57 motor

[Big D]

Just picked up my 57 vette, she looks great but was not running, replaced all ignition components and cleaned out the carb and got her purring, however, I noticed steam or exhaust coming out of the right side near the heads, then the car overheated, I looked at the oil and it was getting funky, thought the overheating was due to a bad thermostat, so I replaced that as well, she ofverheated after I shut her down and I saw steam rising up from the oil filler cap.

I am not a happy camper, how hard is it to pull the top off this baby and replace the head gaskets? Since the engine is nor original, I would not want to go into a complete rebuild if at all possible, what are your thoughts?

 

[67HEAVEN]

It could be as simple as a head gasket, or as costly as a cracked head or block.

In any event, if there is antifreeze/water in the oil, you've got to deal with it immediately.

A head gasket change is not too difficult, assuming you have some basic mechanical experience, but a torque wrench and proper procedures are called for.

After removing the head, you might get someone with engine experience to look things over before buttoning it up again.

Good luck.

 

[magicv8]

67heaven is right - do it now. If you dont see a problem trail on the head gasket, have the head magnafluxed to be sure it isn't cracked. If the head is OK and the leak is still there after you install a new gasket - the block is the likely culprit. Change the oil before restarting after the gasket change. Change the oil again, if the leak is cured by a new gasket - after you get the engine good and hot. Oil is cheaper than everything is protects.