Thanks... I don't have the time or the money to take the head off right now, so I'm just trying to get it back into a driving state. 

I purchased it from someone who grossly lied to me about the condition and I'm just trying to salvage it at this point without breaking the bank.

Unfortunately the hole is too big now to just apply some JB Weld... good idea if I had thought of that (or asked) before I starting trying to pry it out.

Use the rubber expansion plug as a temporary fix until you're ready to pull the head. Share some of the gross lies the PO told you. We've heard a lot of them but who knows, maybe there's a new one.

Probably not a new story... purchased it from afar (trusted and believed what the seller was telling me about it too much) and had it shipped to me since I was looking for one with minimal rust.  Was told that it was a running, driving car... the day that it was picked up by the auto shipper, the seller told me that I would need a tow truck to get it back to my house once delivered.... I was able to get it to start, drove about a mile and the plug on the rear of the head blew a small hole in it and a huge cloud of smoke/steam from that hole ensued.  There also another leaking plug on the passenger side of the car... and the radiator itself was leaking coolant too.  The only thing it has going for it now is that it's a solid, rust free desert car.

 Excellent. Mechanical repairs are a piece of cake compared to rust treatment. Technically, I suppose, the PO didn't lie. It was a running and driving car. How well did it run until the freeze plug let go?

I pulled a freeze plug once by poking a hole in it with a sharpened nail, driving a long wood screw in to the hole, grabbing the end of the screw with a pair of vise-grips, and levering it out by using a big screwdriver under the vise-grips and a wood block as a fulcrum.  If there's enough meat left around the edge that might give you something to work with.  Just an idea, to build on.

Thanks guys... I appreciate the suggestions.  I'm going to give it a go again tomorrow and I'll report back.

@Mark Maras It unfortunately didn't run great for the mile that I got it to run... I'm thinking it may be because the carbs needed to be rebuilt (which I did) and it had old gas in the tank/line (which I flushed).  I haven't been able to try running it again until I get this plug replaced.  I'm hoping it's not something more major with the engine itself.

Edited April 2, 20196 yr by redolphn

 When you get the cooling system repaired, give it a complete (including a valve adj.) tune-up. Tracking down the source of future problems will be a lot easier if you know the basics are good.