I would take the radiator in separate and see if the shop can boil it out and fix the two holes. It might be time for a new radiator.

While the head is off and the radiator is out, now would be an ideal time to remove the coolant drain plug on the rear passenger side of the block and the freeze plugs and really flush it out. I would go so far as to pull the water pump to be able to really clean out any sludge or goo in the block. You will have a nice clean head, so why chance messing it up with sludge from the block and radiator?

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Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

I second Reed’s comment.

Disassemble as much of the cooling system as possible, flush, flush, flush, including the heater core as it is also full of that “Brown Crapâ€￾ and may be leaking as well.

Drop both radiator & heater core off at a radiator shop and have them test for leaks. You may, or may not, find replacing a bad radiator to be less expensive than a recore job. Heater cores are rather inexpensive to replace as well.

Do some pricing home work before you drop off anything at the shop. One place to check for new radiators is [url=http://www.radiator.com/lookup.php]here[/url], most likely the same place your shop will go to for a replacement to sell you.

Bill

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67' Dart GT Convertible; the old Chrysler Corp.
82' LeBaron Convertible; the new Chrysler Corp
07' 300 C AWD; Now by Fiat, the old new Chrysler LLC

The heater core does have a small leak also. The lady I bought it from did tell me that at least. I found a replacement for like 42 bucks so I'm not too worried about that. I am going to try to flush the system the best I can without removing the freeze plugs. If it doesn't seem to be doing well I will remove them but would prefer not to. I am going to take the radiator to the shop in the morning and see what they say. Hopefully it can be easily repaired. I am thinking of buying some of that coolant flush stuff and see if that aids in my flushing. I will let y'all know how it goes. I really appreciate all the help!

I'm guessing I am going to have to torque my rocker arm rail when I put the head back on since I will probably have to remove it to install the pushrods right? Does anyone know the torque specs for the rail?

Also, the torque for the intake/exhaust manifold. I'm not having much luck finding the numbers. My engine and head are an '82.

One important note: it is important that all the valve stem heights are all even with each other, on hydraulic lifter SL6 engines.
When you go to pick-up the head, have the machinist check this by putting a straight edge across the tops of the valve stems to see if there are any that are lower then the others.
DD

From my 1982 Dodge van factory service manual:

Rocker arm removal and installation:


Manifolds removal and installation:




Note that the factory service manual is still using the installation diagram from the old shaft style throttle linkage in pre-66 cars for the 1982 truck and van shop manual. Cheapskates...

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Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

Alright! Thank you so much. That's exactly what I needed.

I still encourage you to pull the freeze plugs and drain plug on the block. The freeze plugs come out with a hammer and a drift pin or punch and a pari of pliers. You can buy new ones at your local parts store. The passenger side drain plug is typically very hard to remove. The only one I have ever tried removing stripped the head on the bolt and wouldn't budge even with a pair of locking pliers on it. Removing these items really makes cleaning the water jacket much easier and more thorough. You know your system has crap in it, why not take the time to clean it right? It will never be easier than right now to get the freeze plugs out. Do it.

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Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

I took the radiator out this morning and took it to the shop. They said it should be done some time tomorrow but we'll see. After I got back home I flushed the block for about 15 minutes. All the coolant was long gone and there wasn't any trash coming out. Actually none ever came out. Honestly I am kinda nervous about those freeze plugs. I just know that some of my buddies have put new ones in before on other engines then had leaks. I did get my head back today. It looks good I guess. Can't tell much by eyeballing it though. I noticed while flushing the block that the furthest rear poison has about 100 little nicks on top. Looks like something got inside the combustion chamber at some time. I forgot all about taking my pushrods to the machine shop today but I can measure them at work. I will post my progress tomorrow. Thanks again you guys for your guidance and help.

Flushing with a garden hose won't get the thick sediment that collect on the passenger side of the block on the bottom of the slant. To truly flush the block, you really do need to get those freeze plugs pull, remove the drain on the passenger side of the block, and direct the stream of water directly at the gunk in the water jacket.

Don't be afraid of the freeze plugs. You want to clean up the bore the plug sits in to make sure the new freeze plugs seal, but you should have no problem installing new ones. Cleaning up the bore just means getting some steel wool or a roll of sandpaper and running it around the edges to remove any crud built up on the bore.

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Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

Well, nothing but bad news... I put the head on, changed the oil, got everything ready and she did fire right up but ran rough. Then I noticed smoke from the exhaust. A lot. I thought maybe it's just the oil burning off the pistons that I put on there to keep them from rusting up. I revved her up and she revved pretty good with a slight bog but she had just been started so that was expected. She wouldn't idle and wound up dying after about 15 seconds of running. I went and checked the engine area over and I see oil seeping from the back of the engine where the head and block meet on the passenger side. I mean seriously, there's not even any kind of oil pressure there, right? It was chugging black smoke and I noticed when I tore it apart that the carb was sitting loosely on the intake. When I put it back together I snugged her down good so that may have something to do with it not running too good and smoking but I don't know... Any ideas on what is causing the oil or how to remedy the situation aside from cussing at it, which, obviously doesn't work...

(1) were you running the motor with the valve cover off? This can make oil dribble down the outside of the head and onto the lip of the block and then travel to the back corner of the block due to gravity. Install the valve cover but don't overtighten the hold-down bolts since that can deform the cover and the gasket and cause leaks. Make sure the bolt holes for the valve cover hold down bolts are flat and not cupped.

(2) did you use a new head gasket and install the head correctly and torque it down properly?

(3) what color is the smoke you are seeing? Is it black? If it is black then you are running really rich. If the carb was loose on the intake when you took it off, someone might have turned the idle mixture screws out very far to compensate for the massive air leak. Or you could have choke problems. Or you could have internal problems with the carburetor.

If the smoke is white, then you have coolant getting into the combustion chambers somehow.

If the smoke is blue then you are burning oil.

It sounds to me like you need to spend some time rebuilding your carb and checking all the adjustments.

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Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

Well, I ran it twice. The initial start up I had the valve cover on and torqued down because I didn't forsee any trouble. I did use a new FelPro head gasket and I torqued the head starting from top center working out to 50 ft lbs then again to 65. After I saw the leak I rechecked the torque on the head and it was good. The smoke was black and blue-ish. Definitely black. I figured the carb would need adjusting because it ran great and didn't smoke with that loose fit before I pulled it apart. the carb is a new factory rebuilt holly. I am less concerned with the way it ran and more concerned about the oil leaking. I am thinking maybe the block isn't flat?

Is the oil coming from between the block and the head or from the valve cover and dribbling down onto the lip below the spark plugs?

For what it is worth, the 225 engine in my brother's 83 Dodge van has a small oil leak in the same place you describe. The leak has persisted through four different cylinder heads and numerous new head gaskets. We finally threw in the towel and put a thin bead of RTV sealant in that area the last time we had the head off. No more oil leak.

If you are worried about the block, do a compression check. The motor in my brother's van gas 135 PSI across all cylinders. No worries.

I would be less concerned with a small oil leak than with a car running too rich all the time. Running too rich can leas to poor fuel economy, poor performance, and, if the condition is bad enough and let go long enough premature cylinder wear and engine failure.

You say the carb is a factory rebuilt Holley. It is nigh on impossible to get a good quality factory rebuilt carburetor these days. SlantSixDan has made numerous posts about the problems with modern remanufactured/rebuilt/refurbished carb sold at parts stores and on the internet. You can try going through the carb and double checking for proper assembly and proper adjustment, but you might have to end up purchasing a NOS carb or finding a rebuildable original carb that hasn't been ruined by remanufacturing.

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Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.