stripping parts car: keep the head?

[dlb]

i just started stripping a 4wd corolla wagon i bought for parts. the head gasket blew on it it and the oil was pure mud. i was considering keeping the head but wonder if the mud-oil could have damaged it. it seems like the valve train requires pretty minimal lubrication so i can't imagine it doing too much harm but wanted to check with you guys.

i'm not even sure i would ever have a need for the head so i wonder if it's even worth the effort to remove it. thoughts?

[Mark]

I pondered keeping the head when I scrapped my '83 hatchback, but in the end I just kept the valve cover and the camshaft. I figured the head is one of those bulky parts that I'll never get to use. I sort-of tried to convince myself that if the head/valve-train assembly on my wagon ever needed to be rebuilt, I could re-build the spare head and then quickly swap it out into my wagon, minimizing the wagon's down-time, but I ended up not keeping it. I figure 3-AC engines are common enough to get my hands on a head if I really needed one. Of course I'll probably break a rocker arm tomorrow and wish I had a spare.

[Petros]

I had a spare head like that I kept from when I had my all-trac (I got one from the wrecking yard and had it rebuilt and than swapped out in one day, I kept the beat one I took off). It sat in my garage for 5 years and decided to scrap it when I cleaned it out, they are fairly common to all corollas form '88-94 and I figured I could get another one from picknpull.

The blown head gasket likely did not harm the head, but unless you intend to own one there is no reason to keep parts that are easy to replace taking up space. I have a garage full of spare parts, and unless I cull it regularly I end up with stuff I likely will never use, but just takes up value space in my garage.

[dlb]

cool, thanks guys. you just talked me out of extra work.