blown head gasget

[randle]

What am I suppose to do about this blown head gasket that i have on my  1980 triumph tr7. I don't think its even fixable an dI dont know anything about engine at all.

[britjojo]

The head gasket can be replaced if you know what you are doing. If you don't then you have a problem as it's getting harder now to find mechanics who know how to work with older engines. You might try an enthusiast's club to see if they can recommend someone local.

[Andy]

Are you sure the head gasket is gone?

Most of the time it is fixable, usually it's just a head gasket. However, whoever does it won't be able to tell for sure until the head itself has been removed and inspected.

I'm not trying to be arrogant here, but you really aren't painting a good picture of garages over in the US. Is it a case of lack of talent, or a kind of snobbery, where if it's over a certain age, or not a certain range of cars, they just don't want to know?

These cars really are quite basic by today's standards, and any competent mechanic should be able to work on them.

[britjojo]

It just seems to me that the garages here work newer cars-and everyone I know (and they aren't well off, believe me) and they still drive far newer cars than I was used to in the UK.

The other difference is that no one, and I mean no one, seems to work on cars themselves-everything is taken to a garage. The only people who do work on cars are the people who have nine million of them breeding in their front yard......

I may be a million miles off here, but I just don't have any confidence at all.

[kisna]

Well, its really hard to do things with old cars.
I've never seen any place who do such works here. And I am pointless about your problem.

[britjojo]

That is why most classic car enthusiasts learn early on how to do their own repairs and perform their own maintenance. If nothing else, it's half the fun of owning such a car.