"Hall, Phillip" wrote:
>
> List -
>
> Has anyone had any luck with copper head gaskets? If I use one of these I
> would not have to o-ring my block and would gain a few more cc's to drop the
> compression on this turbo motor in the planning.
>
> Also I need the bore, stroke, and piston to deck height of a 2L. Need to
> calculate compression ratios with different pistons.
>
> Thanks
> Phil
Yeah as a matter of fact I have had a bunch of experience with solid
copper gaskets, although not with the 2L motors. I spent a ton of money
working with one of the big solid gasket manufacturers trying to develop
solid gaskets for some of the Brit high performance engines I used to
build. They kept telling me how well these things worked and how they'd
solve all my problems and I kept taking their advice. First we tried
flat gaskets (which was one of the the main ideas so as to eliminate
warpage induced by gasket compression). No luck. They they said we
weren't prepping the block and head right cause these things always
sealed on the formula motors they made them for and the motorcycle
motors. So I followed their instructions for block and head prep. No
luck. Then we tried different head studs and nuts trying to even the
load out. No luck. Then they said well maybe you need our "o-ringed"
style, where the plate thin raised rings on each side of the gasket to
seal the critical holes. No luck. But then we saw there were problems
with their oringing process and the rings weren't always consistent, so
they said let us try to correct that. I did, they didn't and the dam
things still leaked. All in all I spent thousands of $$ with them and
never once got a working gasket. Much latter I came to the conclusion
that the head bolt pattern must be "just right" and must clamp the head
evenly and at just the right points in order for the gaskets to seal. I
know they can work cause a friend ran them on his bike with great
success. But the clamping pattern on his bike was MUCH better than any
car engine I've ever worked on. I would not recommend it unless you talk
to someone who has done it on a 2L before and had great success. Frankly
even then I wouldn't do it.
The one caveat to this is that I did use a FelPro HeadSaver on a Z once
and had no problems. This is a solid copper flat gasket you use with a
regular gasket. It is a cheap way to use a head that is too thin or to
lower comp on a motor that is running to much compression. You glue the
HeadSaver to the block with this special stuff they send you with the
HeadSaver and then install a regular FelPro gasket on top of that. I had
*serious* reservations but I talked to several guys who had used them
with no problems and the car owner really wanted to try it before he
paid for another performance head. It worked fine.
--
Marc Sayer
Editor/Publisher
Z Car & Classic Datsun Magazine
http://zcarmag.com
Voice 541-726-6001
Fax 541-746-0863/726-6001
|