Mitsubishi: Cylinder Head&Pistons, blown head gasket, cousin phil

Question
Hi, I wrote to you in the past me and my cousin Phil, i just wanted to get back to you about my 1994 Mittsubishi galant, i told you there were starting problems because of a blown head gasket,
well never could get the car started so i decided to remove the head and did it, found the blown head gasket split in half, and water laying inside of valve #2, and #4 Piston has black smoke on top of it, any idea what im looking at to have the head checked out the amount, and also is it normal that none of the Pistons is at the top of the block as in TDC, i think i threw the timeing off also, well lay it on me, think it will start after a replace the head gasket.....?

Answer
Hi James,

Sounds like a lot of fun! I really enjoy this stuff. You will need to have your head taken to a machine shop and they will magna-flex it to check for cracks. If it's ok, then have them mill it to make sure the surface is flat. To that point it's about $40. The black soot you have on the cylinder head is burnt anti-freeze. Try to carefully chip off the excess. The rest will burn off as you fly down the highway. Number one should be at the top at top dead center. Double check this by turning the crank 180. Number one is the one to the far right looking from the front of the car. Firing order is 1-3-4-2. For the rest I'll need to know if it's a DOC or SOC.