Casey96SS

I guess that's sort of good news you found something. Sucks to have to go through all that work though. Might be worth having the other head checked out too if you have not already. It would really be bad to have to tear it all apart again after you get it back together.

jims95z28

I'm considering pulling the other head. However, since it's not leaking now and it was pressure tested before I installed it, I don't think another test will show anything.

Casey96SS

I ordered the rods and pistons for my rebuild this week. I decided to order a Fel-Pro 1074 .039" gasket to take a look at it too. I will say cosmetically and design wise the 1074 looks pretty nice. Fel-Pro even included a detailed instruction page which explained why they changed some coolant holes around to help even out the cooling in the head. It sounds like they restricted some of the outer holes and added a bigger hole in the center. This was to compensate for the extra heat in the center since there are two exhaust valves side by side.

I have not had my block decked yet, so I think I am just going to have it zero decked and run the .039" head gaskets.

I know many people have run the .026" VR 5898 gaskets without issue. Just wanted to point out the differences I saw side by side. The VR gaskets do not even tell you what side to put up.

jims95z28

Yeah, I had to dig around a bit to get a consensus on which side of the VR gasket should face up. I'll probably stick with those for the time being.

platinum performance

which way is up?Ihave these gaskets...

jims95z28

One side has a raised ring around the bore. I put that side against the head after reading the following post:

http://www.camaroz28.com/forums/lt1-based-engine-tech-9/side-goes-up-mr-gasket-5716-a-562909/