well 71 chop the shape the motor is in i think is rebuildable. yeah all the gaskets leak definitely! but i have always meade sure there is oil in there. my motor is a 70. I have a head from a 75 that i am cleaning up and i just bought a cylinder from a 73. the transmission shifts good...does not jump out of gear or nothin like that....yet! i figure i can clean up all this stuff and make a decent stock motor. right now the motor can pull me up steep hills pretty good in 3rd gear and i am a big guy.
she dont smoke at all. i am still trying to figure out if i should redo the rings or not. when i kick her over there is 1 cylinder that has good compression that i can feel. 2 that seem ok..and 1 that is like not even there. i am thinking just headgasket but i dont want to take all this stuff off and put it back on and have to do it again. there is a chipped fin on the head on the left cylinder....I think that is the problem cylinder. the spark plug in that cylinder is always the blackest and the most oily. the engine is most oily on that side also. maybe she was dropped at one time?? who knows...yeah it sounds like alot of work...but nothin to it but to do it!