Wow, Charlie and CNC DUDE; thanks loads for all the good copper head gasket information! What size wire and what size groove would you recommend for the O-Rings? I don't plan to put a receiver groove in the head. just a flat surface on the othr side of the gasket.

As usual, thanks for all the good info/advice! Gotta seal this thing up!!!

Bill in Conway, Arkansas

Sure Bill, no problem. For a .060" diameter O-ring wire, you need to shoot for having the wire to stick up between .006"-.008" above the deck surface when using a .040" thick gasket. Don't use copper wire like some folks do, it totally defeats the purpose of o-ringing to begin with. Use a precision ground hardened wire for the job.

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There's no such thing as too much cam....only not enough engine!

So, for the cutter that makes the groove in the block surface, you want an interference fir of how much? That is, how wide should the groove be cut?

I understand about the material; can't use a soft wire like copper; you wouldn't get the high unit loading needed for this application with anything but hard wire. But, I need to know about that cutter size. I understand, too, about the depth of the cut, just not the width for the proper amount of interference fit.

Thanks for any information!!!'

Bill

Bill, its just slightly undersize, maybe only .001", just enough to hold the wire from popping out of the groove.

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There's no such thing as too much cam....only not enough engine!

Okay; gotcha... thanks!!!

Bill

What method is used to determine the recommended copper gasket thickness? Is there a general rule of thumb, or merely personal preference?

Thanks,

Brian

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Flyin' Brian

74 Duster, 225, rear-mounted blow through turbo at 12psi boost, street/strip car
"Sixy Beast"

Well, on most engines that have a cylinder head with a quench type chamber in them, it is found that a quench distance of .040"-.060" is ideal for maximum benefits that come from having that type of chamber design. So, this typically means that the target deck height for the piston is between -.005" to zero, and then you would use a .040" gasket thickness to put you right on track for the optimum quench thickness. Most engines that have a quench type chamber have gaskets available in a .040" thickness, coincidentally. Checking the pistons deck height correctly becomes very critical when using a quench type of chamber, i've seen pistons touch the head with .032" piston to head clearance.

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There's no such thing as too much cam....only not enough engine!

Since the slant head is not a "quence" type head. My point of view is use the gasket thickness to adjust the compression ratio. Like if you have 10-1 NA, and add a blower, use a thick gasket to lower the CR, rather then doing another head.

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Charrlie_S
65 Valiant 100 2dr post 170 turbo
66 Valiant Signet 170 nitrous
64 Valiant Signet
64 Valiant 4dr 170
64 Valiant 4dr 225

charlie those SCE price are a lot cheaper than when i called year before you had the group buy, they wanted $265cd for one gasket. do you have any contacts there to get a .040 3.504 bore gasket?

I don't have any contacts. I just gave them a call, as I knew they had the slant gasket at one time (put one on my turbo engine in 1981).
I would give these people a call, also. They say they don't charge extra for "special" bore sizes (unlike SCE), and they do have better pricing.
http://clarkcopperheadgaskets.com/cchg/ ... tent/?id=1
No contacts there, either. Just a google search and a phone call.

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Charrlie_S
65 Valiant 100 2dr post 170 turbo
66 Valiant Signet 170 nitrous
64 Valiant Signet
64 Valiant 4dr 170
64 Valiant 4dr 225