U UL Head Gasket

[kjsisterson]

I need to buy a set of head gaskets. What should I get? Fiber/tin or Copper or?
Thank you,
Kevin

[Robert Luland]

Copper. Anneal it with a torch. Lightly glass bead it to clean. It will end up sealing better than any Teflon fiber gasket could. It will fill every last void. Bob L

[T. Cotten]

I need to buy a set of head gaskets. What should I get? Fiber/tin or Copper or?
Thank you,
Kevin

Kevin!

I have an opinion that others may argue or distain, but first please tell us if you have cast iron or aluminum heads.

....Cotten
PS: Dressing your heads and cylinders to 'flat' should eliminate "voids", of course.

[kjsisterson]

I have cast iron heads.

The gasket gave out on the So Cal Road Run last weekend of course!

Kevin!

I have an opinion that others may argue or distain, but first please tell us if you have cast iron or aluminum heads.

....Cotten
PS: Dressing your heads and cylinders to 'flat' should eliminate "voids", of course.

[T. Cotten]

Well Kevin,

One general rule of thumb is copper for cast-iron, composite for aluminum, but I preferred composite for both.

Head gaskets do not blow themselves: It takes excessive heat.
Please first inspect your head and cylinder deck for warpage, particularly over the intake port. Then please bubble-test your manifold, and double-check your ignition timing before putting her back in service, as those are the two most common causes for a spike in temperature.

Good luck,

....Cotten

[kjsisterson]

HEllo Cotten,
Thanks for the tip.
I will check all those things.
I did find a loose head bolt exactly where the gasket blew through. It was a metal gasket, that attracted a magnet with some kind of cover materiel.
Kevin Sisterson
President
Perros Viejos Chapter
AMCA
San Diego, California

[T. Cotten]

Kevin!

Even with the metal it is considered "composite" and goes back at least as far as WWII, as that is what I found in an NOS WLA kit.

Its hard to be religious about re-torques, I know.

Gotta torsion torque wrench? Adapters are easy.

....Cotten

[Steve Slocombe]

With iron heads I pull the head bolts down to 65 pounds feet on the VL. Then go over the bolts again by hand the first time the engine gets hot. Also run that 7/16" x 16 tpi tap down through the bolts holes in case the bolts are bottoming on carbon deposits, especially if the heads have been skimmed.