AirborneZ28

I have a recently rebuilt engine (about 2k miles on it) the heads have never been taken off since the rebuild and the ARP head bolt kit was used. Can they be reused one more time since they don't seem to be listed as torque to yield head bolts or should I buy a whole new set? I am going to pull the heads while I have the intake off and would rather not spend another $80-$100 bucks on top of the $100+ for the head gaskets if I don't need to.

Also as for the head gasket, I have looked at the cosmetic, fel-pro, trick-flow and Mr. gasket head gaskets for my 383 block and GM LT4 heads. I have seen multi layered stainless steel cores, solid stainless steel cores and even copper cores, some coated, some not and even some with the steel rings around the combustion chamber. I am running it n/a at about stock compression and as I said the only other difference is it's bored out for the 383 instead of the 350, it is running street other than taking it to the track a few times to see what numbers she puts down any suggestions as to what gasket would be better for my engine?

lttransam

iTrader: (12)

the ARPs are reusable.

AirborneZ28

Thanks that was what I was thinking as well on the ARP head bolts. Also that was supposed to be Cometic not Cosmetic just got ahead of myself typing I guess.

henry172

iTrader: (2)

I would go with the victor reinz 5898 gasket.

AirborneZ28

Actually I looked at that exact gasket earlier but it was the only one that didn't have a multi layer steel core and I wasn't sure it would work out for the moderate performance based engine application (400-500 hp). Just seemed like every other head gasket that was for the larger bore and said it worked with the LT4 heads had either steel or copper core. That doesn't mean they wouldn't work great, I just usually get nervous when there is one guy swimming against the rest of the fish in the ocean when it comes to engine parts .

AirborneZ28

I haven't ruled it out though and I appreciate your response.

quik95lt1

iTrader: (7)

personally the cometic is the way to go durability and toughness wise......however they are pricey and if the finish on your heads and block deck isn't a 50RA or finer they wont seal.......

at your power level and compression I dont see an issue with the fel pro gaskets........from experience i've run them on a 11.2:1 355 making some good NA power with no issue.......i tried running them on my 385 @ 13.2:1 like an idiot at 8000rpm and they let go........

for your application i dont see an issue with them and they are only $40 each

gjohnsonws6

iTrader: (12)

You can re use the bolts.Get some fel pro 1074's not the stock replacement,but the performance line

jaycenk

iTrader: (1)

Just did the felpro's. no issues

AirborneZ28

Great, thanks for all the responses and help. I hate to sound stupid but what is 50RA finish for the heads and deck? I know what it means by the deck of the block where the heads seal and obviously the surface of the heads where they meet the block and I know you are talking about the level of finish as in how smooth it is but not sure on what RA is and how it's measured. How would you know by looking at it or is it something you would have to be told by the machine shop?

I do know the block was blueprinted and clearanced for the 383 rotating assembly but the shop that originally put the engine back together dealt with the machine shop not me so I never got to talk to them and find out what all I got for the $2000 of machining. That whole thing ended very badly, I never got a full receipt or even full parts list of what was put in my engine.

I know there was some mild polishing of the ports on the heads, larger valves, valve seats done and all that. There was some mild polishing on the ports of the intake which turned out to be pointless as I found stock replacement gaskets when I pulled the engine apart so in many areas there was a 1/8" overlap or more by the gasket blocking port flow for the intake and exhaust and I also found the openings on the front of the intake were never ported to match the 58mm tb that was put on. When I pulled the oil pan I found there was alot of grinding on the eagle crank (which I imagine was to reduce rotating assembly mass and fine tune the balancing) even though it was a balanced eagle 383 rotating assembly. I have not yet pulled the heads but I wouldn't be surprised to find stock 4.000" bore head gaskets on there. These are just the tip of the ice of problems I have found so far and the whole thing ended up a very expensive nightmare. That is why even though I know the basics of engine building (rebuilding stock) I have been trying to research the performance parts of this every step of the way so I have had many threads lately.

This is the third time I have had to at least partially tear down the engine to fix major issues and this time since I have it down to the heads I figured I better just go ahead and pull them too and check and fix everything that I can. I want to make sure I get the right gaskets and right parts and do this right, but I also don't want to spend more money than is neccesary. Especially since I have already had to replace rocker arms, pushrods, valve springs, plug wires, injectors, distributor cap and rotor, starter, alternator, valve covers, gaskets and seals and a whole lot more. So believe me, your help and input are greatly appreciated and always feel free to suggest reading material or links to articles or elaborate at any time.

quik95lt1

iTrader: (7)

well like i said for that motor id just runt he fel pro perfomance gasket and not worry about it ........but a good way to tell if its smooth enough is to run ur fingernail across the surface.....if you dont feel any grabbing and the tip of your nail doesn't get white then usually ur good to go.......kinda a rough way of doing it but it actually does work lol

good luck on your build!!!

henry172

iTrader: (2)

I am at 11:7:1 compression with my 355;the 5898 gasket seems to be holding fine even with stock head bolts; But I am only running the hotcam with le1 heads.

AirborneZ28

Yup, went with the Fel Pro 1074s. I was just asking about the 50RA finish for my own personal knowledge. After what was said about the cometics being more for higher power applications and of course because they were $70-$100 each, they were no longer being considered.