Martin White

I think it is more than surface pitting. Have been chatting to a mechanic today and he asked me if the car had power before the gasket blow which it did. Seemed to run fine. Will dress the surface of the cylinder as suggested and put back together. Will compression test all four cylinders and see what I have got. Can I do this without put everything back together??? Does the engine have to be running? Never used a compression tester before. If still no good then will have to bite the bullet and get the engine out I guess. Thoughts ladies and gents?

Please see attached. Was speaking to an engine specialist who told me to gently wire brush away and he sees all the time. Was not sure what to make of that. Have not been racing will be using car as a weekend drive. All the other cylinders are fine. Thanks

Seems the problem is a bit more serious the cylinder nearer the rear of the car is pitted/corroded. And this is where the gasket blew. I suspect previous owner has left it with coolant from a previous gasket blow before putting new gasket on and selling to me :-). my question is where do I go from here rebore/ new liners/ new engine??? Any advice welcome and does anyone know a good engine specialist in the midlands? Despite the bad news I am actually quite enjoying getting my hands dirty although I think getting my hand in my wallet might not be quite so enjoyable, hopefully not too bad??

Thanks again guys very helpful.

Excuse my ignorance but do I need to change the studs, nuts and washers when changing cylinder head gasket? Best place to buy these is minispares website?? thanks

Sounds goof to me. Thanks for the advice everyone

No brake servo fitted as far as I am aware

Seem to have not much water in the radiator but water in the header tank. Oil is clean, no particular weird smell. Car starts OK still and drives (although only to move it to tow truck and into garage). Unfortunately will not have time to look at this weekend as away but will start the process next week. Is it worth filling up with water again to see if I have any bubbles in the radiator/header tank? Anything else I should check before dismantling? As I say I have had the car less than a week is there anything else to check while the head is off. Check seals of valves with petrol, grind the valves back in? I have to admit to being a bit rusty on the maintenance front and probably 30 years since I have taken the head off s spit.

Thanks for all of your input guys 👍

Doing slightly better than me. Took delivery of new car at 11.30 on Tuesday and head gasket blew at 4.30 same day :-). Thought I might get at least one day before I had to get my hands dirty! Shame really as was really enjoying driving around in a Spit again after 30 years of owning one. Have the luxury this time of a dry and relatively warm garage to work in. Just hoping head gasket is the issue.

Thanks Clive. Can you elaborate on the NoS Payen not the latest stock comment please?

Hi Folks Just had the cylinder head gasket blow on my 1500 spitfire (lots of white smoke). Does anyone know where I can source a high quality cylinder head gasket set? Did look at K seal but decided to do the job properly but want to make sure that the gasket that goes on is as good as can be. Thanks

Thanks you Pete for your advice. Scary stuff buying an old car!!

Hi Folks I am looking at a restored Mk 3 spitfire and noticed (from the pictures) that the gap between the door and rear wing is very slight. How can I tell if this is simply a door seating issue or something more serious? I have seen several pictures of mk 3,s and the gap seems to be different on all of them. I also read on a blog that the lower rear part of the door did in some cases leave the factory standing proud. Any advice gratefully received. Martin