Aluminum heads and steel shim gaskets ?
I have a 440 I'm installing e street heads on 75cc chambers was wondering if I can use the smaller .20 steel shim gaskets on aluminum
Hey Alex, welcome to FABO! I see You re-posted the ? here, and got the correct answer. The ARP fasteners are a good call as well, the bolt kit is engineered with necked
"short" bolts that allow for more head expansion w/o damaging the gasket as readily. I lived a few doors down from a Gentleman who had His BS in mechanical engineering,
but decided to take a maintenance job in the mill when He married & had kids instead of going back for His Masters. He taught Me several things as a car-guy, how to shrink
a panel, modifying carbs i.e. air-bleeds etc., paint-work. One morning He had a stroke, and everything changed for Him. He was able to get around & do things, but all of the
things He had skills for were out of the question, so He needed assistance. He had a head gasket put on by a garage, I was always running around working on hotrods &
street racing, He didn't figure on bothering Me. It was an "Iron Duke" FWD version 4 banger, and they pooched it, looked like they started at one end w/an impact gun &
went down to the other. It failed & He called Me. We took it apart, and when I went to re-assemble it, He had a can of teflon paste.."paint the block and the gasket with it".
It was a Fel-Pro teflon, & I didn't think it was needed being an iron headed engine, "Put it on!!!" He insisted. He knew how much movement went on between different
surfaces, even the same materials because of temp increases & decreases at different rates. The development of MLS gaskets has solved a
lot of problems for the modern
OE's.
