[notfarnow]

Thanks for the advice guys.

I took the head of with the intake manifold attached. In the end, it may have been easier to remove the manifold beforehand.

Funny coincidence, a coworker with the twin to this car... same year & color, blew his headgasket too. He has never done much car work before, but he bought a low-mile used engine for a swap. He came over last night, and as I plugged away on my friend's car, I put him to work on his... walking him through the steps and helping out when he had stubborn bolts. By 11 PM last night we had his old engine dangling from a chain.

Today I pulled the head on my friend's car, as my coworker got the new engine ready for his car. We had the new engine in and running by 6PM. He was elated; the biggest "car job" he had ever done was brakes.

I also managed to get new shocks in my Jetta, and 2 glow plugs in my Samurai. Not bad for a day's work

I like helping friends out, but I wish they'd buy Porsches so I could really enjoy it.

It was fun to have someone else in the garage... I'm used to working alone till the wee hours.