Nick get them to pressure test it as well

_________________
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
www.datsport.com

"R.I.P. Baz. 29 April 2022. Thank you for all your contributions to the Datsun community over the years. You will be missed." - OZDAT

baz,
no probs, i've always done that to every head i've taken to them regardless. Good peace of mind.

Basically this is what happened at the cyl head joint earlier today:

Showed him the head: he said that the corrosion in cyl 1 had definitely caused the blowout and it needed a few welds and facing
and that i should use a higher concentration of glycol in the coolant.
I was using just one of those small $8 ring-pull cans of Castrol concentrate from supercheap/repco but he recommended two or three or
to bite the bullet and buy genuine Nissan coolant ($45 for 5lt) saying "you get what you pay for".

Showed him the head gasket: he said that the stain between 2 and 3 was from a poor seal e.g. shitty head gasket.
He advised me to buy a graphite head gasket as these stick heaps better. They have these in stock as a head kit.

So its gonna be alright but i couldnt help feeling guilty and told off becos i had been skimping on the engine
and buying the cheap stuff for it.
I dont need to be wrapped over the knuckes though as i have already skinned them while removing the head.
Lesson learnt...

The head will be done in a few days and hopefully will be back to its old self.

Oh one thing i noticed aswell was that the old manifold gasket was leaking out the bottom of the exh ports
and also that the intake port holes were a few mm smaller than the head port causing a restriction to fuel and air. Must have been rushing it last time to notice. What a dumbass! Something i'll remedy on reassembly.

Speaking of reassembly... does anyone have any tips as to good manifold gaskets to use (i have been using 'extractor gaskets' from car parts plus), and the best way to setup the cam timing
for max power (besides what the haines manual says) now that the head has been shaved even more...

were they Durapro gasket sets?

we have genuine Nissan Jap head gaskets

Graphite mani gaskets are best for extractors.

Nick call in & I will show you whats up with the valve timing with planed heads. (Call first)

_________________
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
www.datsport.com

"R.I.P. Baz. 29 April 2022. Thank you for all your contributions to the Datsun community over the years. You will be missed." - OZDAT

ah, cant say definitely but it did start with 'D' (duraseal or something like that)and had a blue line around the edge 2 or 3 mm thick.... I left it at the cyl head joint.
I'll drop in quickly before lunch on thusday or friday when the heads ready.
Appreciate the invite.
Cheers mate.

p.s. Catching public transport to work was fun. Havent been on a bus or train in years.
Brings back memories of going to school...
Dont know how it'll be after 2moro though.

there is Cam tower shims also if head was milled alot
Baz would know this But im sure hell set u up anyways.
I always set my cam to the #2 sprocket. But I only ise moderate cams anyways.

when i removed the head: at zero degrees the cam was set on #1 and the aligning notches by the cam sprocket were directly in line.
I cant remember off hand if its best for the elongation to be off to the left of the v or the right without refering to the manual?
I was goin to move it to #2 when the head comes back and note which way the v moved.
Where have people found it best to set this to? I guess it would depend on a few variables though...

Once a head has been milled the std setup for valve timing as per the manual is out the door.
The only time I would need to use cam spacers is if the top surface of the head has been milled.
Compensating for material removed from the head face by spacing the camshaft higher will require using thicker lash pads.
Not a problem with reground or highlift cams as thicker pads are needed anyway. Uless your head has been set up previously, then you will need
thicker pads.
There are otherways to compensate for the head milling.
ie mod the chain guide positions,etc.

_________________
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
www.datsport.com

"R.I.P. Baz. 29 April 2022. Thank you for all your contributions to the Datsun community over the years. You will be missed." - OZDAT

got the head back on (thanks for the ifo Baz, much appreciated).
Ended up setting the cam timing at the #2 position as that was about 6deg on the crank when lining up the cam notch and elongation like you said.
Car goes good. Cant really tell any difference in power yet. But only have the dizzy set on 10 degrees.
Just took it for a few drives but found two other probs caused by the headgasket.
The lower radiator hose had split which was easy fixed with another.
The other prob is that there is a real slow leak coming out from below the water pump between the timing cover and front of the block.
Looks like the saga continues on the weekend again...
I might be able to replace my dodgey 2 piece sump gasket then too.
Wish me luck...
p.s the gasket kit they supplied was a 'Durapro'. Looks much better quality than the last one i put on...