Well the new head gasket showed up yesterday. But it's not going to work. I have to use copper head gaskets because of the notch in the bore to clear the intake valve. Off the shelf gaskets do not have the needed notch.
So I had my gaskets made up by Clark Copper head gaskets to fit. But they are out at least two weeks on gaskets right now. So I ordered an SCE Titan gasket from summit. The only one they had in stock in my bore size. What I didn't know is that it has a built-in fire ring. And that fire ring is not compatible with the wire o-rings in my block. Plus it is in the way of the notch. I spent a couple hours grinding on this gasket trying to make it fit but then I ended up giving up realizing it was not going to seal.
The old copper head gasket leaked combustion, and it leaked oil into the water, but it did not blow out. So I cleaned it up, annealed it with a torch, got it nice and flat. I checked it all over with a micrometer and there is no thin spots. So I doused it in copper coat and installed it. My son Cam milled the head flat. So I'm hoping with the restored gasket and the head being flat that it holds.
I got the head torqued down, but that's as far as I got by bedtime last night. So today I need to finish putting it back together, then
I'm going to put the exhaust system on and drive it around on the street some today to see how it does.

Wish me luck, I need it!