Weird coolant problem

I'm not sure that I could get away with putting the head in the dishwasher atm but I like your style 😎 
The liners are proud of the block but only 1 of them is below 2 thou.
The head is flat,...but it has some pitting.
I will give the elastomer gasket a go.
this is the worst part.

R40MGF wrote:

I'm not sure that I could get away with putting the head in the dishwasher atm but I like your style 😎 
The liners are proud of the block but only 1 of them is below 2 thou.
The head is flat,...but it has some pitting.
I will give the elastomer gasket a go.

this is the worst part.
 

What they don't know don't bother them..........pick your moment to "use" the dish washer, preferably when no one is looking! 🤣

The 'panscrub' is Scotchbrite, green is medium grade, red (brown) is coarse, great stuff!

When i had my first motorbike as a mere teen, i had to change the fork bushes, the manual said to heat the fork legs in hot water to expand them.

Being the enterprising teenager, I stood them in the electric kettle and boiled it a few times, ignoring the oil slick forming on the surface of the water. My mum was suitably underwhelmed as the kettle was ruined, no amount of rinsing could remove the taste.

Most importantly, the fork bushes came out easily.

Daedalus wrote:

When i had my first motorbike as a mere teen, i had to change the fork bushes, the manual said to heat the fork legs in hot water to expand them.

Being the enterprising teenager, I stood them in the electric kettle and boiled it a few times, ignoring the oil slick forming on the surface of the water. My mum was suitably underwhelmed as the kettle was ruined, no amount of rinsing could remove the taste.

Most importantly, the fork bushes came out easily.


 

We have the popularity contest winner!
Look on the bright side, from that moment on you had a dedicated piece of workshop equipment........The thermal fork leg expansion tool # EJ/57-248-B and a new Kettle!
You did buy mum a new kettle.....didn't you!

If that was my head I would be using it.
I would take a small file and file the edge of that waterway channel just to take away some of the pitting. At the moment it is perhaps a way for the water to seep under the gasket.
Just file the very edge slightly and you will be surprised how much better it looks.
The gasket has plenty of head to seal on.

I have ordered the gaskets, exhaust manifold bolts and a new thermostat. 
I spoke to the lady that owned the car before and she said that there had been 3 previous attempts at repairing it!

Doesn't look so bad, but I agree with TA22GT a fine file on the edges of water channels. Elastomer gasket and a fine bead of sealant should see you ok.

One of the benefits of the MLS head gasket developed by MG Rover's Powertrain division (compared to the SAIC-designed MLS gasket), is that it included a shim that went against the cylinder head that would seal minor imperfections in the head such as seen in the pictures you attached.

If it were me, I'd open up all of the partially flashed over coolant passages in the head using a Dremel with a carbide burr bits to gently cut away the flashings to improve coolant flow throughout the head. 

Some great advice here 👍 
I'm going to check the liner heights again, just incase there is a possibility of using a mls gasket. 
I wasn't planning on using sealant on the gasket, is it recommended?
And the scotchbrite..wow! I couldn't even use my thumb print to unlock my phone after using that.

R40MGF post=223909 userid=3221
"I wasn't planning on using sealant on the gasket, is it recommended?"

No, no sealant should be used.

No, no sealant should be used.
Thanks,  that's what I thought.