LT1-LT4 Modifications 1993-97 Gen II Small Block V8

Head gasket Question.HELP

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Old Jun 5, 2007 | 01:33 PM
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Unhappy Head gasket Question.HELP

OK. A friend of mine has a 95 formula and asked me for some help. He has a blown head gasket and is ready to fix it. The problem is that the car is a 355ci. with stock heads, he does not know which brand or thickness to go with.From what I know about the car there has been no work done to the heads other than quick surface job just to clean them up. He also has a lt4 hot cam, headers, throttle body, and the other usual bolt ons. he plans to put a 150nos kit on the car. ANY HELP WOULD BE APPRECIATED.
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Old Jun 5, 2007 | 07:41 PM
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i went with mr gasket .026 head gaskets. im not sure if you want a different quench for nitrous but ive heard ideal would be .03-.04. please someone correct me if im wrong.
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Old Jun 6, 2007 | 02:28 AM
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how much did you pay and where did you get them at?are you still running your stock compression? do you think those would be ok for a 150 shot of nitrous? sorry for the questions but i dont know very much about head gaskets or lt1s. any info would help a lot!!! THANX...
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Old Jun 6, 2007 | 02:39 AM
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Would depend on the piston dish/dome, piston depth and the size of the combustion chamber. He should be able to measure all of that with the heads off.
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Old Jun 6, 2007 | 02:49 AM
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the pistons are speed pro forged flat tops with four reliefs,stock heads not to sure what the cc is. how do you measure the piston depth? how do i figure the compession ratio?
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Old Jun 6, 2007 | 02:52 AM
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To measure the piston depth, you see how far in or out of the hole the piston is. Do a Google search for compression ratio calculator and you'll find a few. The block should have been zero decked, but if it wasn't, then you'll want to get a gasket in the mid to high .020" range. There's the Impala and the Mr. Gasket head gaskets in that range.
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Old Jun 6, 2007 | 03:03 AM
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do you do this when the piston is at its highest point?Is there any way to tell if it has been zero decked?If it has then what thickness should i go with?
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Old Jun 6, 2007 | 08:27 AM
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After you get all your variables, use this calculator: http://www.torinocobra.com/Randys_tools.htm

A block has been zero decked (or at least they have the tallest piston possible) when the top of the piston is flush with the deck or out of the hole slightly. FYI, Fel Pro steel core laminate head gaskets for the LT1 are .039 compressed thickness.
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Old Jun 6, 2007 | 01:57 PM
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ok ill do that do you know the cc's on the stock lt1 heads off a 95
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Old Jun 6, 2007 | 02:58 PM
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Should be 54cc unmilled. I think for our heads, .010" mill= about 1cc off.
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Old Jun 6, 2007 | 03:06 PM
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I gave up on the mr gasket .026" gaskts after both sets I bought came apart when I opened the package. If they can't even pack the gaskets right I definatly wouldn't trust them on my car. I'm running .027" 4.01 bore cometics instead.
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Old Jun 6, 2007 | 04:55 PM
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were can i get the cometics and how much do the go for? has anyone heard of a brand called blue performance? the guy at my local car Quest says they are pretty good gaskets.
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Old Jun 6, 2007 | 07:30 PM
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I wouldn't put something called Blue Performance on my car. I think those are the ROL gaskets. stay away. Also, in order to run the Cometic head gaskets, you need ultra smooth surfaces on the block and heads, so they'd both need to be remachined specially for them. If people are reporting problems with the Mr. Gaskets, get the Impala gaskets. They should be .029" IIRC.
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Old Jun 6, 2007 | 07:51 PM
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Originally Posted by seawolf06
I wouldn't put something called Blue Performance on my car. I think those are the ROL gaskets. stay away. Also, in order to run the Cometic head gaskets, you need ultra smooth surfaces on the block and heads, so they'd both need to be remachined specially for them. If people are reporting problems with the Mr. Gaskets, get the Impala gaskets. They should be .029" IIRC.
I know a bunch of people with LT1's and LS1's including myself that ran them with stock blocks without any problems...
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Old Jun 6, 2007 | 07:54 PM
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what i was told was that if your finger nail hangs on the surface anywhere the surface is too rough. I had bought a set of cometics but didnt use them with my h/c since i was told it would be overkill unless i was spraying or boosting. if your interested i have them still in the package. i think they are .027 4.030. ill check if you want them. they are pricey though. i think i paid 65/each
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Old Jun 7, 2007 | 01:10 AM
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man i would love to get those cometics off your hands but i just went ahead and ordered the impala gaskets from my local gm dealer. The only reason i went ahead and bought those, is because a good friend of mine is a mechanic there and he got them for half the price at $20 each. there a lot of people running those gaskets and most of them seem pretty pleased. THANX a lot You guys have been really helpful. PM me a price anyway you never know what is going to happen next on a lt1. Oh yea do the impala gaskets do well with spray, after all that is what started this thing in the first place....

Last edited by carreras; Jun 7, 2007 at 01:11 AM. Reason: wrong price
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Old Jun 8, 2007 | 01:04 AM
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ttt....
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Old Jun 8, 2007 | 12:53 PM
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Almost all the gaskets are the same as far as handling spray. Unless you're doing a crazy shot, that is. I think the MLS gaskets would be best for large shots.
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