Panhead valve cover gaskets

[pan620]

Any body have a type or brand of pan cover gaskets that you like to use? Last time I used thin paper ones, worked ok.

[Rooster]

There are three or four popular styles of rocker cover gaskets, and certain styles are specific to certain years, as explained by Palmer. Almost everyone I know has a different preference; mine is the thick (.061") paper gasket by James. Regardless of the gasket style, it is most important to assure the flanges of the covers are absolutely flat. I spent hours and hours- first with some precision hammer work on an anvil, then sanding flat.
I found that the 12" adhesive-backed sanding disks worked best; the disk remains fixed on a proven-flat surface (my Corian workbench is superb), freeing both hands to work the valve cover against the sanding disk.
I used a jumbo magic marker to 'blue' the surface frequently, checking the fit to the cylinder heads often. I spent all day on this and thought I was done. However, the next day it seemed I could do better, so I spent the better part of that day on it too.
When I was (finally) satisfied, when placed on the cylinder head (without gasket), I was not able to insert a .001" feeler gage between the cover and the head anywhere. I probably could have gotten by with no gasket at all!
My point is, if the gasket flange is perfectly flat, any style gasket will work for you. (It should be noted that some aftermarket covers are too shallow to allow anything but the thick cork gaskets.)
Sorry for the lengthy reply....

I wanted to add this comment- if you're using the thick aluminum D-rings, thick cork gaskets should not be used. The cork allows too much 'give', and uneven or careless tightening of the screws will lead to cracked D-rings. Palmer discusses the different gaskets and when they were used.

[Greg Fittro]

Recently my buddy had his '48 motor rebuilt. When using the aftermarket gasket the original cover screws were too short so I believe he used the paper gaskets to retain originality. Not sure if there is an option to use alternate screws that look original with thicker gaskets.