I was thinking about this thread last night. I think HF has a cheap tester that will work on the unused oil cooler ports at the bottom of the front cover. Those are the bolts Alex is referring to. They come out very easily. 20 or 22mm if memory serves. You could check the oil pressure there.

You can replace the water pump cheaply, just removing the fan shroud, fan, and a few bolts.

If you do the head gaskets you will lose your coolant anyway so you could flush the system and then switch over to green.

I left my Rover in the garage for FIVE YEARS with blown head gaskets. A really bad blow. Then figured it out and replacing the gaskets in a weekend. You can do it.

 

Right now here is the plan. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to let me know.

1. Coolant Pressure test. I put the pressure tester on my Christmas list, so I will be able to try. I'm not sure what I will learn, because I know the HG are leaking. Not sure how else to detect block issues.

2. Check radiator / engine block for blockage or leakage. I'm concerned about blockage because DEXCOOL. Is it possible to remove the radiator end caps and visually inspect? Is there a way to do a flow test? For the engine block, I'm not really sure how to check for blockage. For cracks, I guess that will have to be a visual check once the heads are off.

3. Get heads check for thickness / flatness.

4. Assuming no serious issues are found in any of the above purchase the following and install:
a. HG kit (victor reinz from Amazon) $118.00
b. Head bolts (Atlantic British?) $80 (or Beck Arnley $45) or head studs ARP (157-4301) Head Stud Kit $198 (does 124-4003 work for less money and just leave some leftover Bolts? I thought someone had mentioned this in another thread.).
c. Water Pump. Leaning toward Airtex on Dusty's recommendation in another thread ( ). $67
d. Also need a serpentine belt $28.

So, parts, minimum $258, to max $411. Plus any incidentals. And whatever I might have to pay for head inspection. I'm open to suggestions. Thanks!

 

1. then wait for xmass and pressure test it when your done, you have no idea how many little leaks people have had after doing HG.
2. no, it can not be rodded like older radiators, replacements are as cheap as 150 buck
3. have heads decked & install new guide seals approx. 200 bucks
4. gaskets and TTY bolts can be got for $130 bucks, you can save money on the arp studs by ordering a Buick 215 set.

 

Where can you get gaskets and bolts for $130?
I'm not really interested in rodding out the radiator, I was just wondering if a visual inspection were possible.

 

You guys probably already know this, but a coolant pressure tester works great to push air out of the system, so you don't have to fool around with detaching the expansion tank or anything like that. Just attach the pressure tester and pump it up 5-10 psi (make sure there is plenty of coolant in the tank) and crack open the bleed screw until water comes out or your expansion tank gets low.

I couldn't wait for Christmas to get the pressure tester and the HF one was on sale.

As far as actual pressure testing. I didn't really learn anything. I would probably need a stethoscope and/or soapy water spray to find a leak. I think my leaks are too numerous to be readily apparent. I think my next step is to get my workshop squared away, so I can concentrate on taking the Rover motor apart. The more I play around with this thing, and see the prices for replacement components the better the Chevy motor starts to look.

 

So... update. I've priced out the Chevy motors and the conversion kit. It's a little out of my price range right now, so I'm going to try to get the Rover motor running. Time to start taking stuff apart!