Ian -- well, no, I just sanded the spot with some 400 emery and it cleaned with little effort, I'd like to think that I didn't take off anything but carbon. The cotton trick sounds intriguing, but I think I'll leave that to the more experienced and adventurous.

I'm going to play it safe and bring the head to a machine shop to have it cleaned, inspected, and faced if necessary.  I'll pull the studs this weekend and clean and check the block as you described.  I first need to locate an appropriate straight-edge.
dpd

Hopefully "light sanding" with the straight edge as described.....

Have you since checked the head and block for flatness??

A loooong time ago when I built my S engine, Bill Quine of Manx Racing described to me his technique of placing a single strand of sewing cotton (held down with a light smear of grease) between each cylinder.  His theory was that the cotton burned off leaving a tiny carbon ridge to reinforce the gasket....

I can't guarantee it will work but that gasket has done about 100K miles so far.....

Cheers, Ian

Great tip on checking and cleaning the block. The black spot between the cylinders cleaned off with a very light sanding and there is no other sign of trauma in the spot of the failure, so I'm optimistic.

I no knowledge of the car overheating at anytime. Is it possible that this would occur for a reason other than overheating?

I'll certainly pull the studs and clean and check the block deck. Thanks for all the insight.

You need to check the level of the head and the block. You can do the head yourself if it is not too bad by getting a heavy straight/level piece of metal and wrap it with wet and dry sandpaper then sand back and forth with some lubrication. You should see the black burnt portion between the two cylinders fade away if it is too burnt you may need to have it skimmed at a machine shop.
With the block it is best to remove the studs with a stud remover or by locking two nuts together. It is harder to do with the engine in place and you may find the stud locations are raised slightly, if that is the case you can slightly countersink the holes with a countersink bit or a large drill bit.
Then you need to find out why the car overheated in the first place and replace any necessary hoses and the thermostat and check the radiator.
Make sure the head is torqued to spec in the correct sequence and re set the valves, after around 50 to 100 miles re check the torque settings.
A Haynes manual is a good investment.

Oh, man, that would be a bummer. I just googled how to check this and looks like I'll have to get a a proper straight edge to check it. Thanks for the tip.

Easy enough to do - just lay a steel straight edge across the area and try to push feeler gauge though any gaps (noting that its best if there aren't any!)

Cheers, Ian

 

Check to make sure the block deck is flat and not eroded between 2 and 3.  

Yes, it does have a bypass hose, and certainly a good time to replace it. Thanks.

Good time to replace the water pump while you're at it....and the bypass hose if yours has one

I correctly concluded that I had blown a head gasket on my 1275 A+. Being a part-time shade-tree mechanic, I figured I'd just pull the head, replace the gasket, and be done. I'm now thinking I need to be more thorough and I'm hoping for some sage advice from more experienced wrenchers.

The failure occurred between the #2 and #3, cylinders, but otherwise no coolant or oil leaks. Would I be foolish to not have the head checked for cracks or warping? Do I need to change studs? Nuts?

The car is a fair-weather road car, so I'm assuming a standard gasket should be fine. Consequently I purchased the standard gasket kit GEG1140. Any recommendations on sealant?

Thanks for any advice you can lend.
Doug