Best head gasket for nailhead?

Discussion in ''Da Nailhead' started by jarrett, Nov 1, 2013.

  1. sean Buick 76

    sean Buick 76 Buick Nut

    Run em!

    Be like this guy and run with junk parts, fel-pros, and studs and turn 9s with 350 CID:

    http://www.theturboforums.com/threa...never-did!-Go-figure-)-Grenade-part-2-to-come

    I had custom MLS gaskets made by these guys, not sure if I needed them of not but whatever LOL:

    http://www.gasketstogo.com/
     
  2. jarrett

    jarrett Well-Known Member

    Lol yea I saw that years ago but had forgot about it. Was that just std felpro's blues or the Oringed race gasket? I'm trying to find it. I'm not sure about the gaskets on this engine it appears to be virgin but you never know. I have another one here a 66 but it has been tampered with. Has comp gaskets silicone all over front cover and a hole in middle of a piston..:/. We bought both of these from a guy years ago and were supposed to be "running" 425's...
     
  3. sean Buick 76

    sean Buick 76 Buick Nut

    I am 99% sure that Marty used fel-pro blues on that engine. I have his personal e-mail so I will shoot him a line and confirm. I do know that he was torquing the head studs more than recomended to help seal and they had great results with many engines using that method. I will come back with the answer I get from him.

    Personally I would not bother with the steel gaskets, I bet fel pro blues would seal better.
     
  4. Babeola

    Babeola Well-Known Member


    Yes, first copper, then plain old Felpro blue (trouble sealing water jackets with copper). It was sealed that way for two years and countless runs until the the #3 bearing let go at the track. At least it was doing what it was made to do when it gave up. It still made an 11 on the pass and took the round on a bad RT in the other lane, but there was no getting back to the line.


    Cheryl :)
     
  5. jarrett

    jarrett Well-Known Member

    Thanks I appreciate it! I did see where he said the stock bolts torqued right to 85 lbs lol. The nail has a few less head bolts than a SBC but it does have 14. Did a lot of checking around the shop last night and it appears a set of BBC head studs might work.

    ---------- Post added at 07:37 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:32 AM ----------

    That's good it won the race at least! Looks like I'm screwed on oringing the block due to the design of this felpro gasket being bare steel on bottom but might possibly be able to Oring the head. Another thing I found is the cyl wall is roughly .250~.270'' thick which means it should be ok at the .062'' overbore. This block could go out to std 425'' bore for and be fine for a NA deal I bet.
     
  6. sean Buick 76

    sean Buick 76 Buick Nut

    I would not be interested in O ring anyway, there are good gasket options out there these days even if they are custom Multi-layer... I would only even consider O ring with a copper gasket but that would be custom anyways....
     
  7. jarrett

    jarrett Well-Known Member

    Spoke with cometic and a custom copper is only option. They don't build a mls for this bad boy.
     
  8. telriv

    telriv Founders Club Member

    The gasket should NOT hang over in the bore. A 322" "Nail" has a 4" bore so I would be willing to bet that those gaskets were originally for a 322. The standard 401 gasket bore before torqueing is 4.250". After torqueing compresses closer to 4.230". A standard 425 gasket averages 4.340" & would be right for the 401 bored .0625" overbore. As far as I know there are NO 401 gaskets that have a larger bore than 4.250", but the 425 had oversize gaskets available over 4.340".


    Tom T.
     
  9. sean Buick 76

    sean Buick 76 Buick Nut

  10. jarrett

    jarrett Well-Known Member

    Thanks! The 350 and 455 are much more common but I sent them a Emial and we'll see what they have :)
    How do the gaskets look? Do they seem like a nice piece? What was cost?
     
  11. sean Buick 76

    sean Buick 76 Buick Nut

    They will make ANY gasket, any size with quality MLS materials... We sent them a stock gasket and they produces the custom ones for us and I think we ordered 15 sets and they came out to about $100 a set... Expensive but not that bad considering they were a custom design.. Not saying that it is really worth the hassle but they will make them if you want them... Would cost more for one or two sets vs a group order...

    The gaskets are at my freinds house and I need to drive over there to get a truck load of stuff from him... about 1000 mile drive though so won't get there till the snow melts in spring.... Not sure on the quality, no one has ran them yet.
     
  12. jarrett

    jarrett Well-Known Member

    I just wonder how good they are and if they will hold up like a felpro, or cometic MLS. I've seen a lot of MLS failures in the LS world. The GM factory gaskets for LS9 are best on the market. Hopefully I can get some pics from them tomorrow.
     
  13. sean Buick 76

    sean Buick 76 Buick Nut

    If I were you I would just use regular fel pros and if you have an issue then go from there.. I remember a Turbo Buick V6 guy telling me that he used fel pro regulars on his 9 second car because if the tune was a little off he would rather replace a head gasket than a piston.... And he still went most racing seasons without needing to open up the little 231 even with 28 PSI... So it is not like he was just treating the engine as a disposable, he had a very good tune....
     

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