Friend of mine had just bought it thinking he could fix it when the head gasket went out, so he's giving it away. Water in the oil, air in the radiator... pulled the head and sure enough there were holes in the gasket where there shouldn't be. Interestingly, it was obvious by a missing head bolt washer and the ease that the exhaust came off that this isnt the first time. These things blow alot of gaskets? It's got less than 200k on it...

I'm not aiming for performance, and without the turbo I bet much isn't to be had right? I'm going for best MPG I can get out of it. Got the 5 speed model with no AC or any options. I'm hopeful this car will be reliable once I put on a new gasket. Advice as to what else should be replaced while I'm in there? Timing belt is obvious... tensioner? Any specific seals that wont be in a eBay $50 head gasket kit? Things I should look out for with this car/engine?

I did notice the cylinders looked REAL nice. Perfectly smooth as far as I could tell, and the old-school engine builder friend I had look at the gasket noted they looked good. So I have hopes for this car...

That said, if anyone knows where to get the PN diesel engine that fits this car, I have a source of free fuel for it....