1971 Volvo 164

It’s been a while since I posted here but a whole lot has been going on.

I blew the head gasket driving it back into town to my mechanic. I was going to take it in to have the brakes done but about 3 miles outside of town it started spewing coolant out of the front. Opening the hood revealed the disaster – steam coming from between the head and the block. My overheating problem wasn’t fixed and now the head gasket was gone. After some choice profanities my friend and I waited for the tow truck and had a bite to eat. Fortunately she broke down at a very ritzy country club and in the dark the profile of the car sort of looks like an older Jaguar. Also they couldn’t see all of Jonny’s tattoos.

After towing it to my awesome mechanic and talking to them the next day they confirmed my suspicion. The head gasket was gone, gone, gone. I dropped off some benjamins and they got to work – though the toughest part was apparently FINDING a gasket set for the B30. One was located for a choke-inducing amount of money and they sent the head off to be resurfaced.

As of today the head has come back from the machinist and apparently it took three passes with the milling machine to get it flat. It was way off before. This was somewhat comforting in that it revealed the source of the problems. Having a nice flat head surface, newly grinded valves, gaskets, and seals (even the intake and exhaust manifold gaskets) is HUGE peace of mind. I hope to get her back later this week. They’re in the process of bolting everything back on. The head is apparently physically on the block now and just needs to be set.

I’m vaguely interested in a new intake manifold that can support a single Weber downdraft carburetor or something of that ilk. If anyone knows of a compatible one please post. The B30 is an inline 6 and I havent had much luck locating possibilities. I know the older Datsun Z series were inline 6 and I have seen downdraft carbs for them but who knows if the manifold will fit. Maybe I will have better luck with the Strombergs after my engine work – we’ll see.