<VV> Severely Overheated 140 Head Rebuild Questions

MonzaProject MonzaProject at comcast.net
Tue Sep 27 17:03:46 EDT 2005


The Car:  66 Monza 140 Convertible

The Question:  Should we rebuild these heads

The History:  This engine was in a show-winning car when she bought it.  It ran OK but had an overheating problem (so said the seller).

The girl who bought this car (because it was a pretty yellow she said) drove this thing - overheating it EVERY time she drove it.  She would drive it until it would drive no more, let it cool down and then drive it some more.  She did this for 4 years constantly, time and time again, and for great distances.  The temp light sending unit wires were diconnected (courtesy of the "seller").  So she didn't know why it was doing it.  She drove it until it gave up the ghost and now chugs and blows oil like the dickens.

The "restorer/seller" installed Clark's new engine bay insulation wrong and it sucked itself into the blower COMPLETELY blocking off ALL the fins.  The insulation was inches deep under the shroud!

We removed all the crap from the fins.  It would drive "farther" now before overheating but would eventually still overheat.  Long story short, she drove the SNOT out of this thing for years OVERHEATING.  She'd run it until it stopped.  Over and over again.

---> Can these heads be successfully rebuilt to run on our now newly restored 140 engine?  Visually they look pretty good.  They appear to be in fairly good condition considering the abuse she gave them.  What should I look for and how do I measure any warpage, or is that not really an issue with these heads.

I ask because the new set of used 140 heads I just bought from a guy across town were severly damaged in the port areas from previous ham-fisted monkeys, and now I'm having to resort back to my originall overheated heads.

Please Help!  We've put over $2000 into this new motor to make it just as nice as the car for shows.  And we need to get this engine together before the snow flies around here.  We'll do whatever it takes.  Thanks

MonzaProject


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