Good morning all,
I am in the process of mounting my header to my newly smog exempt
Spitfire. I have ground the ports to match the head, test fitted for clearance
and adjusted accordingly, and sent it off for its Jet Coating.
Now, I have purchased some gasket material from the local speed shop,
some rather impressive stuff from the Mr. Gasket corp. My two questions
regarding
the use of this stuff are:
1. When cutting the holes to match the intake/exhaust ports of the head,
how much clearance should be allowed. I am certain all material
to the inside should be removed, allowing free flow. But what, if any,
EXTRA
should be removed. Is it a detriment or benefit to remove, say...an
extra 1/16"
around the perimeter? I ask because I noticed upon removing the
original
exhaust manifold, that the stock ports did not match up with the head
all that
well. This was evidenced by the pattern shown on the gasket, complete
with signs
of leakage. I want to be sure I have no such problem this time around.
Any of you with Spits and possibly others in the marque will be
familiar
with the rather weak mounting stud/knuckle system employed here. Truly
not one of the Coventry team's better engineering jobs.
2. As far as sealing goes....I have heard the liberal use of axle grease,
applied
to both sides of the gasket before final assembly, is a tested trick of
the trade.
Anyone hear of this before? True or possibly detrimental ? Any
particular grade/
product recommendations here?
Thanks in advance,
Chris Prugh
72 Spitfar
Morgan Hill, CA
TTSCC Publicity Director (send me your event announcements)
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