Hi Grumpy, have gotten abit of the old head gasket off the block where the "blow out " is and yes there was a blow mark across it as you mentioned there would be. ( sorry forgot to get a photo ). Have cleaned up both sides and got a new head gasket.
I will cut this next bit short,, while doing this this morning i had an old timer turn up to question me about his generator, asked what i was doing, explained the situation from the start and he proceeded to tell me to put it back together give it a run while spraying a light mist of fuel into carby throat , at same time up the revs, if it goes hard that will tell you if your carby is playing up or not. Even when i told him i have checked carby a couple of time, he stubbonly told me to try it. Walked away mumbling something about young blokes not wanting to listen...
What do you think, should i give it a go?
I am leaning towards giving it a go as i cannot think of anything else it could be.
