Finally got back on this project... a 4 foot long 1" pipe was employed as a breaker bar to loosen the head bolts. Sure enough, a bad blowout; the passenger side head gasket was blown on one of the middle cylinders in such a way that coolant was not leaking into the engine, and we didn't experience power loss either (we didn't drive it much once it started to sound like a steam engine).

 

The coolant temps on your engine are getting too high. You need to find out the reason why the head gasket went out; there is an underlying cause to this

 

We'll start with a new thermostat and coolant, and careful monitoring of the temperature. Our gauge seems to work, but it could be off-calibration, and displaying a lower temp...
I like your thinking though- it would be nice to identify the cause!

 

does that cylinder look steam cleaned compared to the others? if the answer is no that is good

 

So this is the passenger side, and the head gasket blew on the lower side of the second cylinder from the front. Luckily, no damage to the block...

No the cylinder does not look different or steam cleaned, so that is a good thing...

 

Just got the heads back from the machine shop. Purchased the full kit of bolts and gaskets from Atlantic British, this Sunday we'll clean up the block and start re-assembly...

 

Good luck. AB is one of the most expensive Rover parts sources out there(their website is one of the easiest to navigate though). If you are looking for better pricing I would suggest Lucky8 and as a sponsor to this site they will give an extra member discount. Be sure to call and mention you are a member.

Have fun this weekend!

 

That pushrod chamber looks awfully black to me. I also have mine off at the moment and it's an even honey colour all over. Given the thickness of the crust and gunk in my rocker covers I'm a little surprised that mine looks better than yours.

 

Yep there's lots of carbon build up in this engine.

At this point, I need to ask for HELP!

My head gasket kit from Atlantic British came with instructions regarding the sequence and torque specs for the head bolts, but I can't find the sequence and torque specs anywhere for the intake manifold.
I even tried to download the RAVE manual, but that's not working either due to my computer (macbook) or my lack of technical savvy with computers.
Everyone simply states "refer to RAVE" when talking about putting these back together, why won't someone write it up on this forum?

PLEASE!