[sedandan]

Trying to decide on what head gasket to install with Edelbrock aluminum cylinder heads. Felpro 1003 Fel-Pro Performance Head Gaskets 1003 or Felpro 1010 Fel-Pro Performance Head Gaskets 1010 . The 1003 has steel ring and 1010 has copper ring. Thanks

 

[Ericnova]

Both can be used.
The steel wire ring #1003 will indent the head more, meaning if it is ever pulled off the engine it may have to be resurfaced to ensure a good seal before it can be re-installed.
The copper wire ring will indent the head less, better chance or any repair work being able to just put a new copper wire replacement gasket in and go.

MLS, or a full copper(SCE or FlatOut) gasket almost eliminates the need for any resurfacing unless real damage happens.

 

[ford396]

^^^ What Eric said. Go with MLS gaskets.

 

[xten57]

I've used the Victor Reinz 5746 gaskets two or three times. They have a 4.10 bore diameter, stainless steel fire ring, and a 0.026" compressed thickness. With my block decked to have the pistons 0.015" in the hole, this gasket gives me a pretty ideal quench area. And they are an OEM gasket, so quality is good. I've never had a problem with them, and I have aluminum heads.

 

[bracketchev70]

Most importantly go with the one that fits the chamber. Many times people worry about the bore and don't see that the gasket is too small for the chamber and the fire gets behind the fire ring and eats the gasket. Steel or copper, is up to you. I have run the steel rings for many years on my race engines and never had to resurface the heads because of it. And for a street car, I would expect it to come apart even less if not at all.

 

[xten57]

Good info.

 

[the tree man]

That 1003 is whats recommended by AFR for their heads and I'm running the same steel ring style gasket,1014,on my 400. I've had the heads off that motor about 6 times for upgrades/repairs and the head surface was always perfect. They seal well,have good thickness for squish on a zero deck and are readily available at any parts store if you need one in a pinch so I'll vouch for the Fel Pro 1003.

 

[Dave the Wave]

does .030 come into play anywhere?

 

[Dave the Wave]

i mean, some say for a 4 inch bore, some say 4.100 bore. this is going on aluminum head motor, want to get it right the first time. thanx

 

[deaks]

I've used numerous types including 0.020 steel shim gaskets for extra compression, I just copper coated them.

 

[Dave the Wave]

i went with the 1003`s, bigger coolant holes between the middle cylinders.

 

[bptactical]

Here is a reach but what does the manufacturer recommend?

 

[Dave the Wave]

the 1003`s. thanx.

 

[drm101]

I've used numerous types including 0.020 steel shim gaskets for extra compression, I just copper coated them.

That's interesting that you can copper coat a steel shim gasket with aluminum heads. I wanted to run a steel shim and ended up going with 0.026" Cometic MLS gaskets, but they are expensive at around $100 each. If I ever have to pull the heads, I may give the copper coated steel shims a shot, or at least reconsider it. My concern would be durability. Can you comment on that?
I ran a solid copper gasket on my '47 Willys flat head 4 and one day had a coolant leak. With low coolant, a hot spot developed between the rear two cylinders and melted the copper. I decided to run a FelPro MLS steel ringed gasket after that. My thought is that steel is less likely to melt in those extreme conditions. I did run the copper gasket for several years before it failed.

 

[xten57]

I've used the Victor-Reinz gaskets mentioned above on two or three engines, and always sprayed them with Permatex Copper Coat. I have at least 30K or 40K miles on the current engine with no leaks. Cast iron block, aluminum heads.

 

[deaks]

I've used the Victor-Reinz gaskets mentioned above on three or three engines, and always sprayed them with Permatex Copper Coat. I have at least 30K or 40K miles on the current engine with no leaks. Cast iron block, aluminum heads.

I used the permatex, had over 400 1/4 mile runs on that set up.

 

[Dave the Wave]

the fel-pro 1003`s went on.

 

[HahnSolo]

AFR actually recommends the Fel-Pro 1003 with their heads so that's what I went with. Not installed yet but have them for the rebuild project starting in Feb.

 

[deaks]

That's interesting that you can copper coat a steel shim gasket with aluminum heads. I wanted to run a steel shim and ended up going with 0.026" Cometic MLS gaskets, but they are expensive at around $100 each. If I ever have to pull the heads, I may give the copper coated steel shims a shot, or at least reconsider it. My concern would be durability. Can you comment on that?
I ran a solid copper gasket on my '47 Willys flat head 4 and one day had a coolant leak. With low coolant, a hot spot developed between the rear two cylinders and melted the copper. I decided to run a FelPro MLS steel ringed gasket after that. My thought is that steel is less likely to melt in those extreme conditions. I did run the copper gasket for several years before it failed.

One of the reasons I used the shims, wS it gave me really good quench, around 0.037-38