Subject: [Fot] Head Studs

From: Allen Washatko <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 30 Nov 2014 17:37:54 -0600

FoT,

Does anyone have experience with head studs stretching? My ARP head  
studs were installed in 2002 and run in race events for seven years. I  
didn't race from 2009 - 2014. During that time, I did a frame-off  
restoration on the TR6. My first event out was the Hawk at Road  
America this year. After the first few practice runs, I blew a head  
gasket. We replaced it and went on to place in class. We did find that  
we were running too much timing and dialed it back.

The next outing was the VSCDA fall event at Road America. It was  
extremely cold (high of 50). We quickly blew another head gasket! This  
gasket was an upgrade to the stock head gasket I had been running for  
years. We replaced it at the track and the same thing happened again.  
The car is running 12.8:1 compression, triple Weber's and full race  
cam. Studs always torqued using ARP assembly lubricant to ARP  
recommended torque rating using their three step approach. Torque  
wrench has been calibrated. The failed gasket has been deteriorating  
at the bridge between cylinders. Location varies. We checked the  
flatness of the head and it is perfectly flat.

Because it was so much colder at the VSCDA fall event, were we  
producing more power due to temperatures which caused the multiple  
failures unlike the Hawk where we were able to finish with much warmer  
temperatures? Could stretched studs be the cause of this somewhat  
erratic behavior?

Thoughts?

Allen

Allen & Jody Washatko
1971 TR6  - Number 6
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