Comittee run anything is bad news! Any idea what sort of money they'd be looking to get for it?Thanks for your help, but they've now decided they don't want to spend a penny on it and are going to buy something else instead! Don't you just love comittee run businesses!
On the engine I have just dismantled, it was clear that the water ways in the head were plugged with rust flakes where they met the head gasket. Must have caused a serious lack of water flow. It's taken some poking about but finally got most of it out of the head water ways. Pressure tested head and no leaks apparent.
My block is cracked through the web at the block face between the middle cylinders. I have seen this on Nuffield BMC diesels but it never seemed to cause a problem. Not cracked at the bottom end of the cylinders as far as I can see, which would be just about fatal, letting water into sump. I have a crack in the block just above the water line low on the RHS of block. Been alright for 30 years apparently. Will give it a fresh coat of JB heat putty and have given it a lathering of hammerite inside and hope for the best.
If I have learned something from this its firstly to steer clear of cracked blocks (but my mate insisted I carry on) and secondly to deal with the cracks and fit new cylinders and the head with a new gasket and pressure test the water side before spending any more time and money.