Head is shot :-(

As the title says, I got that dreaded phone call this morning:

"Sorry dude, the head's got a crack in it..."

So much for that... After not too much pondering, I decided to go ahead and take the plunge (or should I say splurge) and order a brand-spanking new head (not BMW though) from BMA Autoparts. Thanks to Neil for recommending these guys, they were really nice and supportive (even *before* I told them I wanted to buy a head! ;-) ) .

My reasoning: An engine swap would have costed me time and money I'm not willing to spend at this time. Speaking of money, here's what it cost and what I got:

AMC Cylinder head (came with valves and valve springs pre-installed) $800.-

Complete head gasket set (incl. head gasket, manifold gaskets, valve seals,cam seals, thermostat housing seals, diverse O-rings, etc) $ 75.-

Set of newer-spec torx cylinder head bolts $20.-

Bunch of misc. bolts (these are the one-time use ones, e.g. for exhaust pipe, exhaust manifold, etc)

Grand total for all that: $905.-

Just so it's done right (I hope!) I'm having this machine shop (where the old head is) swap the rest of the parts for me.

Total cost for swap: $140.- ($40.- is actually for dismantling the old head which they did to pressure-test it)

So that's that... $1045.- total expenses on this trip... Hope to have better news from here on... Stay tuned...