steel shim head gaskets and aluminum heads

Larry, do those gaskets cometic ones work better then the orange crush gaskets TA? Or do they have more thickness options? I checked the link and they sound good. I like the fact you dont have to retorque them.

 

Every head gasket needs to be retorqued imo, cometics can be a tricky to seal sometimes too

 

Ya like Felpro "perma-torque" I like to use TA's procedure listed in their book. Haven't had any leaks since I use that procedure.

 

They are also reusable. I've reused them as many as 4 times and still good.

 

Reallllllly....
On the dyno after some testing, or when torque plate honing a block?.
You must be spraying them with Spam,non stick spray !

 

Nope, although spam sounds like a good idea, just clean them well and spray with 2 coats of the copper stuff.
gary

 

That would be PAM, non stick spray... SPAM is a lunchmeat product made by the Hormel company, in Austin MN...

 

I know, thats why I liked the idea, you could have a little snack while assembling the motor.
I ate way to much spam as a kid, especially fried.

 

Ya, I was replying to Anson.. before he got too far down the road here with a new "Spam" technique



I used a couple sets of Cometic gaskets right when they came out... on the 10-1 compression Iron and Alum head stuff they worked fine, I never had an issue with coolant or compression sealing on that stuff. These are MLS (Multi-layer Steel) gaskets and require a finer surface finish on the block and heads than composition gaskets do, but if you have that, you should be fine.

I have issues with cost.. a lot of low to moderate compression Stage 1 motors that are using them would do just fine with the $20 each Fel Pro Blue gasket.. and you can buy a heck of a lot of them for what a set of cometics cost. You would usually use the MLS type gasket for improved blow out resistance in a higher compression/boosted motor. But my experience with a couple sets was that when those race motors came back for a freshen after a couple years, the dark streaks on the top of the cylinder were evidence of compression leakage into the valley... it also happens to be right where we are "missing" a head bolt, that many engines have.

Now, on a Tomahawk, we have all the bolts, and the aluminum of the block and heads tends to swell up with heat, so I might try a set on the next lower compression 'hawk I build.. considering the cost of o-ringing the block, and copper head gaskets, it could be a viable, lower cost alternative for good head sealing in that application.

But for the iron blocks, I don't think you can go wrong with a composition gasket, first choice is still the good old Fel-Pros, just make sure you put the extra row of bolts in for the Stage 2 heads, it will help prevent coolant leakage due to different expansion rates of the Iron and aluminum.

The TA gasket with the cold sealer surface material, will be a lifesaver if your machine work is not as good as it should be.. just follow the directions on re-torquing carefully. A good middle of the road option, price wise, between the Fel Pro and Cometic gaskets. At that price point, SCE also makes a good composition gasket I have used before.

As far as Steel Shim Gaskets, ya, you can spray them with sealant and they will work, but it really is a gasket that is designed for iron heads/block. I would worry about chaffing, as the alum head moves against the raised imprints of the gasket, during warm up and cool down cycles.

JW

 

I had a feeling spam looked funny , remove the S, Pam . ..... Yeeahh
I was liking the not having to retorque part. I already have TA gasgets. Since I already have to open them up and put the innerspring back in after Break in ,going back and torquing the heads should not be that big a deal . Is that enough running time to re-torque just the initial breaking in of the cam?

 

what kind of gasket did buick use on the alluminum headed 300s?

 

Joe, What head gasket did you end up using? Did the steel shim head gaskets work OK? Do you have an update or advice on going this route?I'm thinking of of doing this with my iron block/Alum
stage-1 heads
Don