Guys, I promised some of you I would let you know what I found out about the head gasket after my problem at Columbus.  Here's what I have so far.  I pulled the head again, used a dial indicator to check the block and head for flatness.  No problem there.  When I first built the engine, I had the block decked a minimum amount, just enough to make it square and equal.  There had been some rust at the top of #1 which left a discolored spot.  I didn't think it would hurt.  Does rust make cast iron soft?  Careful cleaning and inspection of that area showed some small pits.  I got some Devcon steel putty and put it on that area, and filed it flat.  That stuff is tough, dulled my file.  Re-assembled it with a Detroit gasket that I had, one of Gary Burnette's specials he had made.  The Detroit has a wider fire ring than the others I looked at, and it also had two perforated sheets as foundation for the composition, the others had one sheet.  I thought it might support the fire ring better.  Haven't had it to the track yet, my car hauler has been converted to a soy bean hauler, the beans aren't done yet.  More to come.

John - "The Hoosier Hurricane"