Car has a blown head gasket, rod knock when accelerating...

here is what happened, pulled out onto the high way and instantly i started to lose power and a rod knock was coming on the higher it reved, but only when gas was applied, i could hardly go over 40 mph. yep... also runs semmingly smoth if revs are increased to 1200
so my car may have slipped a timing belt??

so far i have removed the belts to get to the "serpentine belt". Right now i can line up the crank shaft marks and the cams pulleys mark with the belt lines. Buuuuuut is it supposed to be directly on the cam pulley mark??? or to the right some more? if this is correct the manual says this, but the top of the hood says its supposed to be 4 nocks over or something like that? ive already tried to rotate distributor but it runs worse.

am i at 0 degrees with my current setup? should'nt it be atleast 5-15 degrees aka 2-5 nocks over or something like that from tdc? or doest this only applie to the distributor, in which case im all the way left. what btdc vs tdc?

Do you have access a timing light?  My 85 timing is listed as 4 advanced but I have always found it runs better at 6-8. Most other CA20 owners find the same thing. There are lots of posts here re timing marks to search for. Remember this is an interference engine so a slipped belt is hazardous to your CA's health.

ok, so more info, i have done a compression test and cylinder 3 is not registering. i am going to trouble shoot after i post. the timing looks to be ok, but im going to switch belt anyways. i was confused at how to set the timing, but i understand now it has 2 separated sections in the manual... i was under the impression you could set the cam timing to different degrees to increase performance but i see now its the distributor every ones talking about. i am just going to leave the cam crank pulley at oem specs for now, seems thats to advanced for every one.

 it also seems the timing gun was a big ass waste of money, i already advanced my distributor to the left all the way...

ok ive done more extensive compression testing...

the numbers from front to back are:

1. was 9.5 dry\12 wet

2. was 6.3 dry\8 wet

3. was 1 dry\ 1 wet...

4. was 1 dry\1 wet...

i want to add i can confirm the timing is right on the belt; i have lined up the lines and white mark where they are supposed to be.

please can any one can help me? i have a blow head gasket, but why is there a rod knock?
 
also the temps where ok, and i just changed oil recently. I want to restate i only drove a mile to get home after this happened. i have not noticed any oil discoloration yet.

i guess what im asking is can i just replace the head gasket since i didnt really drive it much?

My last CA did this and found broken rings - and sounded like rod knock too. Sounds like it may be boat anchor time - sorry.

heh my thought exactly, except i have no place to store this, i have no garage or home atm.
i am going to have to sell the car unfortunately
i dont have time to swap an engine, i am due for shoulder surgery on the 28th.
unless i can find a ca18de or a ka24de and swap it in a week..

or a good working ca20 that you can drop in and daily drive. That's an easy weekend project

So I fixed it, for now.... I have a few ads up looking for a good swap like a ca18 or a ka24 ect

If you know of anyone selling a good swappable engine have them pm me or something :)