Hi I am proud new owner of this 65 valiant convert. I am looking forward to many years of enjoyment. I just drove it home today. I don't know much about slant 6 engines. but am tyring to learn fast. I have been a vintage volvo man for the last 10 years. but I just couldn't pass this one up. My question is,there seems to be a fare amount of oil coming from between the block and the head on the pass side. is this a common problem/ Or am I doing an engine rebuild sooner then I thought.

Welcome on the board! Looks like a terrific car to start out with. First step'll be to get a factory service manual; see this post.

Your oil leak could be from the head gasket, but fix the easy stuff first. The spark plugs reside in stamped aluminum tubes, each sealed to the head with an O-ring. Those O-rings cook with age, crack and fail to seal, and you can get quite a bit of oil leaking through. The other "easy" leak point in that vicinity is the valve cover gasket. Info on the plug tube seals, valve cover gaskets, plugs and other tune-up parts in this post.

There are a bunch of other more-or-less standard fixes, mods, and upgrades for these cars, just as there are for vintage Volvos (my 164, with engine out, is here). Ask questions, ask questions!

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Thank you for the quick reply. The spark plugs make sense. they seem to have some silicon on some of them. your 164 is very cool. I have a beat up 262 bertone right now. and this is the volvo that got me started. http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s230 ... 2wagon.jpg no loner have it now.

Silicone goop around the plugs is a sure sign someone found oil leaking there but didn't know about the plug tube seals. An Amazon wagon is on my wanna-own-someday list, but there are so many cars on that list I'll never get round to all of them unless I win the lottery, and since I don't play, that's unlikely...yours in the picture is schweet!

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Make sure the PCV is working properly. The valve, the hose and the passage in the base of the carb. If they are clogged up, it will push oil out any place that is not well sealed.

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Charrlie_S
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