Hi there. I'm Raine, contemplating purchasing a local '74 Cougar XR7 as my first car. It's precisely my budget ($1500), and looks a hell of a lot better than the usual Civic/Accord/Sentra/Cressida options one with a cheap budget would usually look into. That said, it has a blown head gasket. I've learned a little about the 351 Cleveland on my own, and have a gearhead friend along to perform a mechanical evaluation, but we're both new to 1970s iron. He had a '73 Riviera for awhile, just long enough to discover everything that went wrong, and an '88 Town car long enough to replace pretty much everything in the starting system. We've both been doing the research on changing head gaskets ourselves.
The question is -- assuming the fluids are alright, minimal oil in the coolant, no coolant in the oil (given 40 psi versus 15 psi) and with any luck bubbling in the radiator minimal -- what else should be checked to make sure this thing won't turn into a money pit? There's already a lot of questions to be asked: how the seller diagnosed the gasket, how much it was driven, any signs of overheating...
Is there any way to tell an engine that's overheated, without tearing it apart?
Beyond the obvious mechanical checks for any used car, and the few extras to spot structural rust, is there anything specific that goes wrong with Cougars to look for signs of?
Thank you very much in advance for your suggestions. I'll be sure to check back and update as I can. Even if I end up walking away because it needs more work than I can afford, I'll post a link to the ad so a better equipped enthusiast might be able to give it a better home.
The question is -- assuming the fluids are alright, minimal oil in the coolant, no coolant in the oil (given 40 psi versus 15 psi) and with any luck bubbling in the radiator minimal -- what else should be checked to make sure this thing won't turn into a money pit? There's already a lot of questions to be asked: how the seller diagnosed the gasket, how much it was driven, any signs of overheating...
Is there any way to tell an engine that's overheated, without tearing it apart?
Beyond the obvious mechanical checks for any used car, and the few extras to spot structural rust, is there anything specific that goes wrong with Cougars to look for signs of?
Thank you very much in advance for your suggestions. I'll be sure to check back and update as I can. Even if I end up walking away because it needs more work than I can afford, I'll post a link to the ad so a better equipped enthusiast might be able to give it a better home.