My Buddy has a 56 customline that has water coming out the tail pipes but no steam He pressure tested the radiator and the gauge didn't drop until he started the engine, it used about 1 1/2 gallon of water in 30 miles, any ideas?

Do a compression check, might be a head gasket.

Frank/Rebop

Bristol, In ( by Elkhart) 

Absolutely no doubt that it has a blown or weeping head gasket. The back of the car is probably cover in black soot as well. An eBay way to check the gasket is to fill the radiator to to the top, start the engine and you will probably see bubbles coming out the top of the radiator. The water will also be very rusty and the water will get hot quick.

With the amount of water you ate losing it may be hard to keep the radiator full to the top to see the bubbles coming out.

Doesn't sound good.

Regards

Rick - West Australia
Do Y Blocks Downunder run upside down? Gravity Sucks!!

I’ll agree that head gaskets are at the top of the list.  Head bolts in the wrong top holes could be an underlying cause while head bolt torque itself could be another.  Pulling the spark plugs and examining each could point you to the cylinder or cylinders that water could be exiting through and then that would give you a place to start your disassembly to determine the exact cause.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)