head gaskets

dave r · Post by **dave r** » September 22, 2011, 6:15 pm

does anyone know where i can find the steel shim head gaskets?all I can find are the composite ones.Summit Racing has them for chevys,but not for 302's.The steel ones are less than 1/2 the thickness of the others for a free compression gain ...
Dave

jamesdfo · Post by **jamesdfo** » September 22, 2011, 11:37 pm

Look for COMETIC, that name keeps coming up on HP builds....

http://www.cometic.com/

http://www.jegs.com/p/Cometic-Gaskets/C ... 0/10002/-1

James

loosrp · Post by **loosrp** » September 23, 2011, 8:59 am

I believe Cometics require a smoother surface finish, check and make sure. Great gaskets!

34rdztr · Post by **34rdztr** » September 23, 2011, 3:48 pm

dave, what are you trying to accomplish?? standard gaskets are .040-.042, the thinnest i think the cometic ford gaskets go is .030, the standard gasket for them is also .040 but they do require a better finish but there is a way to work around that. i have a set of .040 of the MLS(multi layer steel) but not cometic name brand. let me know eddie

66CC · Post by **66CC** » September 23, 2011, 5:24 pm

That link shows one with a compressed thickness of .027". They aren't cheap though, are they.

LM14 · Post by **LM14** » September 23, 2011, 5:26 pm

Try the FelPro 1011-1. They are .039 thick. The 1011-2 is .041 thick and is actually recommended for Iron heads. The -1 is for aluminum heads and can crack a steel head when torqued.

There's only a half point of compression difference between a .020 and .054 gasket. The .041 is a nice compromise and doesn't require the special smoother finishes and is a little more forgiving than a shim gasket.

SPark

dave r · Post by **dave r** » September 23, 2011, 6:09 pm

I just wanted to get as much "cheap" compression as possible.The thin steel shim gaskets worked for 75 years on every thing from Model "T"'s to 425 h.p. 409's.413 max wedge Dodges,to 427 Ford hi-risers etc.Now all you can find are the composites.I just thought If i could find the thin gaskets I would use them.I'm not building a race engine just a daily driver,and the closer to 9 to 1 i could get with out spending a bunch of $$.I have a set of FEL-PRO'S,so I will use them.I was just trying to lose .025 of quench area.I traded the D80E heads for some E7TE's so I should gain about a 1/2 point CR,and was trying to get another 1/4 point or so.20 yrs ago It would have been no problem... Oh well,thanks for the help.
Dave