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Oil weeps or pools around the valve cover, drips down the side of the block, or accumulates around the timing cover. You might also see oil on the bellhousing or clutch/flywheel area.

Age. Fifty-year-old rubber seals and cork gaskets don't age gracefully. Heat cycling and oil degradation accelerate the breakdown. The rear camshaft seal is particularly prone to failure and often misdiagnosed as a rear main seal leak.

Valve cover gasket is cheap and straightforward, new gasket, clean mating surfaces, torque evenly. Front timing cover gaskets require more work but are manageable. The rear camshaft seal is the nasty one, it sits at the back of the head, and oil leaking here runs down onto the bellhousing. Don't let a mechanic tell you it's the rear main seal at mega-bucks cost. A $10 rear cam seal and a few hours of your time is all you need. Strip the ignition components, remove the distributor, and replace the seal.

Rough idle, hesitation, stalling when cold, uneven running, black exhaust smoke, poor fuel economy.

The B30 uses two Stromberg carburettors that must be perfectly synchronised. Worn throttle shafts, clogged jets, perished diaphragms, or incorrect float levels will cause running problems. Ethanol fuel doesn't help, it rots old rubber components and varnishes the internals.

Full strip-down, ultrasonic clean, rebuild with a proper kit. Replace all rubber components, set float heights correctly, synchronise the carbs with a flow meter or listening tube. If the throttle shafts are sloppy, bush them or replace the carb bodies. Some owners convert to Weber carbs or even Bosch D-Jetronic fuel injection from a later B20E for reliability, but originality suffers.

Hard starting, misfiring, poor performance, backfiring through the carburettor.

Points-type ignition with a mechanical distributor. Points wear, condenser fails, distributor shaft bushings get sloppy, advance mechanisms seize. Old plug leads leak voltage to ground.

Service the distributor: new points, condenser, rotor, cap. Check and set dwell and timing. Lubricate the distributor cam and advance mechanism. Replace plug leads with quality silicone items. Fit new spark plugs (correct heat range). Many owners convert to electronic ignition (Pertronix or similar), eliminates points wear and improves reliability.

Coolant loss, overheating, visible corrosion or green staining around the radiator core or end tanks.

Old brass/copper radiators corrode internally from acidic coolant and externally from road salt. Plastic end tanks on later units crack with age.

Replace or re-core the radiator. Reproduction cores are available and reasonably priced. When fitting, use new rubber mounts and ensure the fan shroud seals properly to the radiator.

Coolant smell in the cabin, wet carpets on the passenger side, fogged windscreen that won't clear, coolant loss with no external leak.

The heater core is a small radiator hidden deep in the dashboard. Age and corrosion cause pinhole leaks. It's a miserable, labour-intensive job to replace.

Remove the entire dashboard. Seriously. That's what it takes. The heater box is behind and below the dash, and there's no shortcut. Expect a full day of work if you're handy, or hundreds in labour if you pay someone. Fit a new core, flush the heater circuit, and reassemble with new seals and hoses.