Spent most of the weekend at a family wedding and felt a bit vacant this afternoon so haven't managed much. I decided to start looking at the oily bits while I wait for a friend of a friend to work out if he wants to help with the welding. I took the rocker covers off and there was nothing too nasty. I took the knackered carb off and then lifted the inlet manifold off.
There appeared to be bits of the gasket blocking some of the holes.
When the old gasket was scraped off there was a sludgey goo behind it.
Inside the engine was similar with three out of the four holes appearing to be blocked by the gasket and back filled with sludge. One fo the four holes was completely dry and clear of sludge.
The sludge in the engine block was more rusty.
The question is - Is it worth continuing to work on this engine or are the internal water runs likely to be blocked?
I don't have access to any special tools or machines for clearing these. Will it be cheaper / easier to swap this engine for a reconditioned one?
Any ideas / suggestions welcome.