1956 Engine Over Hearing Follow Up thoughts

[Ronald Draper]

I thought I would post the findings to my 1956 engine overheating problem.

The car had set for 20 plus years with no care other than what Mother Nature offered.

I had reasonably good compression on all cylinders (about 35 % variation between high and low pressures) but could not put my finger on the exact problem of why the engine over heated in a few minutes. 

I now have the answer.  The original head gasket was made out of solid metal.  The lack of care and setting for all those many years used up the anti rust (if there were any to begin with) in the antifreeze.  The water left in the engine slowly rusted away (electrolysis) the head gasket to the point that there was less than 1/16 inch of metal left in the ring around the cylinder and the water passages.

Just enuff metal to keep the new antifreeze with leak sealer from getting into the cylinder (15 pounds max) but allowed 40 plus pounds of compression to blow into the water jackets and out thru the radiator cap.

So the moral of this story features a double edged sword.  Solid metal head gaskets need to be retightened after a period of time plus they are a time bomb waiting to explode if you have solid metal gaskets and the car has not been maintained for any time period.

Thanks for the help as always!
Ron