Cant believe it...
Going for a surf, pull up 100m before my mates & a decent puff of steam came out from under the bonnet.
Pulled into his driveway, up came the bonnect & the hose back to the radiator is split & crap is going everywhere.

Here's the odd thing, its done 72,000km (yeah it WAS grandpa's car), i did the head gasket at 52k & it was fine.
Has a teeny crack between 2&3 - chemiweld & all ok for about 1.5years so far i think.
Got a brand new Weber 32/36 on there too...

The coolant is full of white oily ooze & its low on oil. (maybe re-route the coolant into the sump? :P)
Just did a compression test - getting 90's-120's (was 140's at 60k in my ol post before) & big jumps to get up there 0-60-90-120

I'm looking at going OS at the end of the year, love to see it through till then - but dont wanna blow serious coin on it.
Its in pretty mint condition really apart from this "slight" issue.

I'm thinking head gasket?
Cant be bothered working on it anymore really, so if i get get a bomb with rego, it might be an option :(

Thoughts?
Any indication of what it would be worth? (full tank of petrol too)

well hope for the best
and if it is just a head gasket
that will get you through to the end of the year

redbook says $800 -$1200

seems like a waste, even for a first gen. being grandpas car it probably never reached operating temperature and its shit itself.

yeah it sat there for probably 5years without moving...

Getting the VRS gasket kit & we'll see how we go, fingers crossed.
Otherwise it's a ripper of a parts car!

i would say head gasket is the whit oily ooze in the radiator actually foaming while the car is running????

Head gasket on a 2.6 is not hard to do, takes me approx 45 mins to get the head off. Good luck

Cars can be stored for 5 years or more without damage, but you need to replace the coolant and change the oil when you first store it. Remove the battery and use it on another car, or charge up every 3 months. Fire it up every three months and move it half a turn of the wheels, helps to stop tyres from flatspotting and moves the coolant as well as covers internals with oil. Old coolant and oil are corrosive over a long period and you will most likely find corrosion damage on the head.

With such low Km's on it, would be sad to see it get used as an organ donor - how ever it would be to the greater good of other magna's but seriously add it up recon head and gasket kit vs old bomb 200 thou on the clock and something shitting itself plus the cost of a full tank of fuel lol. seriously if grandpa's car was garaged it must be mint and have sentimental value I'd kick myself down the track If I didn't at least keep it. Although I'd love to see bidding on here for a gen1 cluster with 72k genuine on it hmmm

Just heard back from the machine shop...
Head has a whopper crack in it - so its toast.
Reco'd head $200
Reco'd engine $500
I'm happy to do a head, but the reco'd engine seems like great value - but i question the time i have for an engine swap (i've currently got 3 "well paying" jobs at the moment) and not 100% sure if i'm confident with an engine swap... etc plus with only 72k, its in good order except the crack leaking a tiny amount of coolant.

Might just go with the reco'd head, keep an eye on the crack in the block (between 2&3 - leaks a tiny amount of water) - that should see me through to the end of the year when i head overseas.
Then i'll put it up on here for sale.

Sentimental value - everyone loves the Magna, its pure class.

Do the whole engine. You might have other problems with the block itself, I know I did when my TR cracked its head.

Thankfully I sold it BEFORE the block shit itself :bowrofl:

If you can afford the reco'd engine, get that. Cracked blocks aren't anything to sneeze at.

recon engine for 500 bucks, who's the company that is doing it ?

$500, god if i can get a reco for $500 it will fix all the problems with the magna that i will be getting in the near future. does that include head, rings, bearing shells etc?

Dunno what the $500 included, but given the condition of the head they gave me (off a blown motor, gouges through the crank, dents in the valve tappet thingys etc) i probably wouldnt have done it.

Just got it all sorted yesterday, all back together, swapped the valves & rockers from my other head, lapped the valves - then flush flush flush flush & repeat!
finally all the water is coming out the same colour as i put it in - so i think we're clean.
Running like a dream! also put in 2 new belts (ACC was orig, as was the alternator & it was slipping a bit under load), never run better...

So i'll do one last flush & fill it with coolant & call it a day! Glad to save the little fella & keep another 1st gen on the road.

What to do with the parts now...
- head (with a crack in it)
- valves (crappy with some rust on them, off a blown motor, unknown k's)
- crank (badly damanged, as above)
- valve springs & collets (look ok)
- rockers (meh - blown motor)
- spark plugs (in good nick)
anyone?