[Fot] Best Head Gasket

Sat Aug 1 08:57:53 MDT 2020

"Staking the head", as per the Kas Kastner books :I've done it on 3 cylinderheads so far. It is really straightforward and a good measure for peace of mind. If the staking is done before milling the head, the screws are nicely flush by itself . The 4 cyl TR engines are 60+ yrs old by now and more often than not, the liners are not protruding evenly and milling the block is necessary. 
Marcel 

Van: "fot" <fot at autox.team.net> 
Aan: "Phil Gott" <vfracing at aol.com>, "Jack Wheeler" <jwheeler1947 at yahoo.com> 
Cc: "fot" <fot at autox.team.net> 
Verzonden: Zaterdag 1 augustus 2020 15:59:17 
Onderwerp: Re: [Fot] Best Head Gasket 

I absolutely concur about the sleeve standing proud of the block, however, be careful that you don't have too much protrusion, (ask me how I know🤔) I believe the spec is 2 to 5 thousandths. I use a copper gasket so I'm at about 3. Morty Dunst made my gasket and he can do them in various thicknesses. 
Cheers! 
Russ Westfall 

[ https://yho.com/footer0 | Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPad ] 

On Saturday, August 1, 2020, 4:52 AM, Phil Gott via Fot <fot at autox.team.net> wrote: 

Michael; 
It is also critical that the liners protrude above the block by .005 to .007” to ensure a good seal. This is before any compression of the figure 8 gaskets. If the protrusion is less, the top of the block should be milled to achieve the proper protrusion. 
If you have milled the head more than about .060 you should consider staking the head around the bores between cylinders two and three per the Kastner book. It is weak in this area. 
The rest of the advice you’ve received is pretty sound, but I have not tried all of it. 
Depending on how much you’ve milled the head and what you have done with the combustion chambers, you may need to reshape the fire ring area of your gasket. It must not protrude at all into the combustion chamber. 
Phil 

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On Jul 31, 2020, at 6:25 PM, Jack Wheeler via Fot <fot at autox.team.net> wrote: 

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I've read all of the comments, but haven't heard anything about Cometic. I had rebuilt my TR-3 engine a number of years ago, using the stock head gasket. I built the engine as I would have built one of my race engines in the day, except with a milder cam and less compression (10.5:1). From day 1 it never really ran right. I began to suspect coolant was getting into the combustion chamber, so I bought one of those test kits where you pull some coolant out while the engine is running and add a chemical which tests for hydrocarbons. Sure enough, hydrocarbons were getting into my coolant system. That says bad head gasket or crack in the head. Since I'd had the head magnafluxed during the rebuild, I assumed it was the head gasket. 

I began asking around about where I could get a good gasket. A guy at a local engine shop (primarily Ford engines) recommended Cometic. I had never heard of them, and told him the engine was over 50 years old, so surely they would not make a gasket for it. He encouraged me to check the internet, and sure enough, they make a whole bunch of them for the TR engine. It's been a few years ago, but as I recall, they had gaskets for different bores (i.e. 83MM, 86MM, 87MM, etc.) and you could order different thicknesses. They stacked steel gaskets on top of each other to get to the thickness desired. I think I ordered a 3 layer gasket. It all sounded a little fishy, but based on the strong recommendation I had received, I ordered one. 

I removed the bad head gasket and replaced it with the Cometic gasket, and suddenly the engine ran great. I have put almost 7.000 miles on the car since then and haven't had a problem. It runs cool (even on 95 degree days, as tested recently), pulls strong, and no sign of any coolant leaks. By the way, I noticed someone else recommended Hylomar gasket cement. I also used that. A light coat on all sealing surfaces does the trick. Do not spray a thick coat. Below is the link to the Cometic web site. Check it out. 

[ https://www.cometic.com/ | Cometic Gasket - Sealed Under Extreme Pressure ] 

[ https://www.cometic.com/ | Cometic Gasket - Sealed Under Extreme PressureCometic Gasket supplies hi-performance gaskets for a variety of motorsports markets: ATV, Drag Race, Domestic Au... ] 
Jack 

On Friday, July 31, 2020, 5:27:49 PM EDT, mleccese1--- via Fot <fot at autox.team.net> wrote: 

Phil, Dave, 

I may have compromised my head gasket last weekend at Lime Rock (Green TR4 #802), can you or someone recommend one that is robust. 

Thank you 
Michael L 
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