Head Gasket experts...check in....

JBurch said

Not forgetting; 421SD Pontiacs, 427 Thunder Bolts, seemed to get along
Early Top Fuel first gen Hemis didn't get pulled down after each round as do Fuel engines now, it was hoped that they, Early Hemis, would last the meet, Blowers make up for lack of compression building.

A thought just came to mind; what did the even bank look like??

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This reply , same as your last one are apples to oranges.
As it says in the excerpt that I posted earlier, most other v8 small block engines use more than 4 bolts. The two engines you listed are big blocks are they not?
My point was that before the birth of the fel pro 1008 gasket,
High compression sbm engines use to have head gasket trouble all the time. It was very common. The Mls gaskets are not a bandaid. They are superior technology. Most stock engines
Including the sbm get along just fine with 4 bolts for what the engines designed use was.
They were not designed for 5-600 horsepower 10 second runs.