I’m pretty sure Pat Braden’s Alfa Bible says something like “If your Alfa Romeo is the workshop, there is a 1 in 10 chance the head gasket is leaking.” That would certainly ring true here. The car is a crusty and delightful 1971 Spider. It is driven often and thoroughly enjoyed by its owner. Unfortunately, the head gasket recently started leaking into cylinder #1. Cylinder liner protrusion above the block of .01mm to .06mm is called for in these engines, and a spec often overlooked.. So we started there. And fortunately, with the liners secured, this one checked out to be OK.
Not a technically correct method for measuring head height. But, good for reference. New heads measure to 4.410″ tall. This one looks to have been milled once before. Also, evidenced by the rotary broach marks on the mating surface shown below.
Looks like a previous owner gave this head a “custom” port job on the intake side. We will be installing all new valves and stem seals.
Some “special” extraction methods were required to remove the original studs for the SPICA intake. We’ll go ahead and resurface this area of the head, and we’ll be installing a Euro carburetor manifold during reassembly.