Hi Brad,
Had a similar experience when I loaned my car to my 2 oldest sons, 17 and 14
then, to drive from San Diego to Portland. On the way up the Ridge route
between LA and Bakersfield, the heater outlet base broke and he continued to
drive it till the engine froze on an uphill off ramp!! Called me and I told
him to get something to eat, and in an hour it would be safe to start it and
drive to the service station 1/4 mile away, then let it set for a half hour
and fix the base with part of a soda can and cut up glove, stick a
screwdriver in the hose end, fill up the radiator with water and if the oil
stayed clear, just drive it to Portland. It remained clear and the funky
fixes worked and they drove it back home that way. Engine ran until it had
105k miles on it and then some rings broke. Did a genuine rebuild on it
then and it has since lasted almost 300k miles more.
So, if the head gasket stays put, the radiator is clean, no mayonaise in the
oil, just keep driving it would be my solution. It might outlast you!!!
Later, Paul A
PS. This engine is one I got from a junkyard and it had been in a rollover
fire wreck in a 74 Midget. Got hot enough to melt the cam bearing metal, it
flowed down to the rocker arm assembly, soldered most of them in place and
destroyed all the valve springs temper! Still got almost 400k out of this
thing!!! Baptism by fire, it was!
Pa
----- Original Message -----
From "Brad Fornal" <toyman at digitex.net>
To: "Robert E. Shlafer" <PilotRob@webtv.net>; "Spridgets"
<spridgets@autox.team.net>; "Yahoo Spridget list"
<midgetsprite@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Saturday, August 23, 2003 6:06 AM
Subject: Was: Here is July 4th 2001 NOW: How hot is HOT? long, tedious
reading involved
> I was just gonna keep up the private email to the Cap'n, but decided
> halfway through, to share it with the lists.
>
> "Robert E. Shlafer" wrote:
>
> > Nice "lineup" :)
> >
> > Cap'n. Bob
> > '60 :{)
>
> The orange one is now the property of Charlie Shelden in OKC. The engine
> is in the blue one though!!
> Speaking of the blue one, I had a fucking heart attack yesterday. I have
> not had a problem with it, other than hard shifting, pump the clutch
> pedal a couple of times and go on. I am buzzing over to Cleburne, and
> almost there, I glance at the oil pressure, and I have 2 needles!!
> I shut it down and coast into a gas station for water. The water temp
> needle was at 80 on the OIL PRESSURE part of the gauge!!!
> BTW, the bulb is in the head, not the radiator, this is fortunate
> for me, as the water was completely gone. Those of you that can put your
> temperature bulb in the head, DO IT, the radiator would not have shown
> the temp correctly.
> To continue, it was dieseling because of the heat and did not really
> want to die. It finally did, and I finished my coasting to water. I
> popped the bonnet, got a rag from the boot, and gave the radiator cap a
> half twist. Once the pressure was released, I gently gave it another
> twist and yanked my arm out of the way, as there was a blast of hot air
> coming out of the radiator at this point.
> Much as I hated to, I went back and started the car, I heard it is fatal
> to put cold water in an overheated engine. The radiator was so hot
> inside, it was blowing the water back out, geyser style. The water
> hitting the head was boiling off instantly. I shut the car down again,
> it stopped right off this time, and proceeded to hose down the outside
> of the radiator. After it stopped expelling hot air (something I doubt
> will ever happen at Just Ed's), I started the car again and proceeded to
> fill. I got the temp down, and got the radiator topped off. I cautiously
> checked the oil, it was a quart low, but not milky. I add a quart, as I
> always keep two in the boot, one on each side. The Castrol bottle fits
> perfectly in the area between the rear side supports and the outer skin.
> I don't use those areas for anything else anyway, so why waste the
> space? Be careful of your wiring that runs round there though!!
> Funny aside, when the 68 was in the shop getting bodywork done, the
> owner called me and said he had struck oil!! Seems I had forgotten to
> remove the quart on one side, and when he went to cut out the panel, it
> ruptured the plastic bottle, leaked out oil, and caught the side of the
> car on fire...................
> Anyway, so off to meet Martha for lunch, and then go get the car
> inspected. Those that don't know, the blue Sprite is a 65. It was hot,
> so I took the top off, and rather than fold it into the boot (I was also
> stopping for yard sales) I put it over the top on the 65 Midget in the
> back yard. Wouldn't you know it, about 1 mile from the inspection
> station, here comes a turd floater (rain in redneck talk). I mean BIG
> drops, the kind that sting your eyes like they are filled with acid
> rain, drops!!! I forge on as I can make a right on the red signal just
> ahead, and hope to catch the last light on green, go through and buzz
> into an open bay at the station. The light is red, and PACKED, so I whip
> into a gas station on the right, and under their awning. I go ahead and
> top off the gas tank, and that helps to justify my using their awning as
> a rain shelter. It slows down after about 15 minutes, so I hop in and
> head for the inspection station. Most stations won't inspect after it
> rains, as you cannot effectively check the brakes, but I have been
> getting my cars inspected here for 26 years. I whip into his inspection
> bay, and slam on the pedal, leaving 3 black streaks on his floor (he is
> a redneck too!!), I need to find out why there were not 4 streaks. But I
> got my inspection finished............ He KNEW my wipers were working!!
> So the rain picks up again. Here I am, Macy style, about 8 miles from
> home, and 3 of those miles are through town. The rain slacked off after
> a bit, so I decide to bite the bullet and go for it. For those that
> don't know, the later seat squabs, like in our 68, you sit pretty low,
> and once you get to about 35, the rain goes over your head for the most
> part. The 65 seat squabs are THICK, and my head is barely above the
> windscreen. I have no more than left the station, when it starts to rain
> again, in torrents. I opt to go around downtown, take some side roads,
> to avoid stopping at the lights. Just my luck, a huge truck hauling
> gravel is in front of me, the spray off his truck is horrendous.
> You have to picture this, I am in a downpour, no top on the car. The
> wipers are going, barely keeping up with the rain on the outside of the
> screen, and doing nothing for the rain on the INSIDE of the screen. My
> glasses are soaked, inside and out, and I have my hand over my eyes as a
> rain block. I have a Brit Flag do rag on my head, so I have a pirate
> look to me, and with my hand up, it appears I am scanning the horizon
> for ships to pillage. Add to that, I am leaned at a 45* angle to the
> right to TRY and get the rain to go over my head. I finally had to throw
> my glasses in the passenger seat, as they were to wet to do anything but
> obstruct my vision even worse.
> As I got closer to home, the car started to run rough, I had gone
> through some deep puddles of water along the way. As I pulled into the
> garage, it died, I was worried that the heat may have blown a gasket. I
> went out prior to posting this email, and the oil is black, not milky.
> After this long, tedious tale, my question is, what other damage should
> I be looking for because of my overheating episode? I appear to have
> dodged a bullet on a blown head gasket or warped head, but what else
> should be expected as a possible problem?
> If you get this far, thanks for reading, and thank you for any valid
> advice (that is for YOU, Ed) you can offer.
>
> Brad
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