Mk1 cabby HELP!!!

Heya, I picked up my mk 1 at the start of this month, and was happily driving around Cornwall grinning like a maniac with the roof down for a few days before setting off back towards London, girlfriend in tow. This was all going fine, until we hit traffic and things started getting a bit hot… Traffic clears and we carry on for a few hundred miles, lost 5th gear ( that's sorted now I think) so was just trying to limp home now. Then the alternator belt buggered off and was running on the battery for a few mins trying to get to services to call breakdown. Then the oil light came on, and then all the steam came out from under the bonnet. Anyway, rac dragged me home with livid gf, the car now turns over, is getting fuel and a spark, but won't start. Help please! 

alternator belt also runs your waterpump! you have now blown your headgasket I think

rubjonny said

alternator belt also runs your waterpump! you have now blown your headgasket I think

what Rubjonny said!

  yup. I'd say gasket too. 

Not a nice job nor very easy. 

If look for a replacement engine. 

head gasket is a piece of cake dont go replacing the engine

headgasket can be easy, or a pain in the rear. comes down to the manifold bolts as they are a pain to reach! you may find it easier to split the downpipe from the exhaust manifold to avoid that hassle.

Next remove your spark plugs and turn the engien over till the cam is lined up to TDC, loosen the tensioner and slip the belt off the cam. Then undo the bolts holdign the carb to the inlet and move it over to the side out of the way, you dont even have to take any pipes or cables off it except the coolant pipe on the side to the inlet if its still runnign a 2e2 carb. Finally just a couple coolant pipes and wires on the head to undo, and after that all it comes down to is 10 spline head bolts and off it comes!

then its a case of get a new head or have the old one skimmed by a local machine shop, main thing to be aware of on reassembly is that the dizzy can spin freely once the belt is loose so be sure to put it back to TDC before you put the head back on.

first thing to do is buy a brown mk1 haynes manual, its awesome. get yourself onto ebay should be able to get one cheap mine was 99p

Sooooo went out to the garage today to put some antifreeze in the car when i was confronted by a horrible gushing sound. Upon further investigation, the new (£10 quids worth) of coolant was daffodil out from between the engine and the gearbox at the bottom. IMG_1490.JPG

Am i really looking at a new engine / gearbox at this stage and what sort of money would i be looking at for that work to be carried out, its a but beyond my skill set and tooling.

http://s778.photobucket.com/user/Matt_Gleave/media/IMG_1490_zpsc802609f.jpg.html

hmm you may have blown a core plug, though i didnt think there were any behind the gearbox?

I would put up a wanted for help local to you, replacement engine by a garage would likely cost you a packet and doubtful they would do a good job compared to a clued up mk1 enthusiast!

money wise depends what engine you want to put in, coudl go for something a bit beefier over std maybe a 2.0 bottom end. the basic 2.0 lump can be had for under 50 quid, then you would need a new known good head to be safe plus a TSR adaptor ring for the dizzy if you want to run it on the old managment.

maybe a 16v? 2.0 16v ABF lumps go lovely in mk1s

There is a thread on the gearbox side, am i being stupidly optimistic by thinking if i find a bolt to go in there and torque it up, i could solve the problem?

pics?