> Hello,
>    I just bought a 1983 water cooled Westy and
> the engine is messed up.  Here is what happened.
> The previous owner was going down the interstate
> and it started smoking real bad, stopped, and she
> pulled right over and left it.  It was towed
> home.  Now it runs rough and smokes alot.  The
> oil is milky looking.
>    I'm guessing at best it needs a head gasket on
> one or both sides.  I plan to do a compression
> check to find which cylinders are worst and take
> that side off first.  Is there any chance it
> might just need a head gasket,or two, or is it
> surely in need of tons of work?  Could the short
> block be okay?  Thank you for your help.
> Steve

First, don't run it with the milky oil in it.

Second, the only way I can see a gasket causing your coolant/oil mix
problem is if one of the gaskets (O rings) at the base of a cylinder
(not at the head) is bad.  If you simply had a bad compression seal at
the head, you would be getting combustion gasses in the coolant .... but
not a mixing of the oil and coolant.

I suppose a head could be cracked so badly that oil and coolant could
mix at the upper end.

Even if you do a compression test and find one one with low readings,
don't just work on that side.  Do both.

Mike