Head gasket apparently went out on my Neon since I have pastey brown stuff in the coolant and an oil leak in back of the head where the # 4 cylinder is. Anyways I figure this would be a good time to do some upgrades since the motor will be apart and I have a friend who is a mechanic who will be doing most of the work. I am thinking about first, replacing the water pump,tensioner pulley and belts while things are apart just so I dont have to worry about them again. Also I plan on swapping to an underdrive pulley and header. Should I, when the head is off upgrade the cam and valve springs while I am at it? Does anybody know if the crane cams or comp cams aftermarket cams are smog legal in California?

 

Go for it all. SOunds like a good plan. If you have the money do the cam. I believe its 50 states legal.

 

Ok I odered the comp cams performance cam from Howell (256HR), AF.X underdrive pulley and a TTI short tube header. When money comes in ill probably put the header on with some better exaust. Upgrade to a cold air intake, high voltage coil and 8.5 mm wires and I would say that would just about cover the engine.