Hi all,

My new (to me) ’89 Pioneer was purchased with a blown head gasket. Of the myriad other issues, this is the only one preventing me from registering the vehicle because it won’t pass a smog test.

Soooooo. Next weekend I was planning on repairing the head gasket. I’ve read on this board that some people have simply swapped in a new gasket, but I’d like to be prepared for the eventuality that my head will need to be resurfaced. Mechanically, the vehicle is in rough shape, but it has a new radiator. My logic is that the radiator is new because the vehicle overheated and the head gasket was a casualty of the overheating. So maybe the head has been “relieved” and is no longer true.

I have a mill in my garage so I can surface the head myself and do the job in one day. However, I’m not sure what datum points to surface parallel to. Any advice please? Is there anything else I should watch out for?