That overheating the car to the point where the "Check Guages" light came on and the temp guage was pegged because my waterpump stopped circulating at 70 MPH blew the head gasket?

Good enough to pull the heads while I am replacing the WP drive gear?

Car runs like crap and bogs down when you punch it, I'm getting *some* white smoke, have white gunk on the oil cap, bubbles in the radiator with the cap off and the wife says the car "smells like burnt popcorn" when it runs.

I say about a 9 out of 10. Agree?

 

9.5 out of 10.

Doesn't sound good. Good time to drop a cam in it while ya got it torn down . . . . Tell the wife it messed up the cam, too. Unless money's tight, that just sucks

 

Yeah, thanks. I'm tearing it down now, I'd love to put a cam in and get the heads ported and polished, but cash is a little tight, we just closed on a house last month...so I think it will be one of those frustrating stock repair jobs for now.

Nuts.

 

I was having issues with the connection on my pump and a couple of times I pegged the temp gauge. Never had a blown head gasket and when I put some ported heads a few weeks ago I didnt notice any problems with the gaskets.

 

Thanks for the word on that. There seems to be enough other stuff wrong to make me think the HG is blown, but maybe I should do a compression test before I pull the heads. Can I do a compression or leakdown test with the Intake Manifold off?

 

Sounds like a head gasket to me. Mine just went about 2 weeks ago and those symptoms you described was what mine was doing. If your heads look like this and the culpritcyl #7, you have a blown Head gasket. Luckily for me I got a small cam for free to throw in there as well as cleaned up, 3-angle valve job heads. I'm also gonna use Impy head gaskets. Good luck.

 

Bubbles in the radiator is no good sign!