Best Head Gasket

[Christopher S.]

Who makes the best Head Gasket for an Oliver 77 that is built up.

 

[Dblair]

mines not real high compression but for something around 240 a stock gasket works just fine.

 

[Gary from Muleshoe]

Try these guys in Lubbock, TX.

Lubbock Gasket & Supply
402 19th
Lubbock, TX 79401
Phone #806-763-2801

 

[jim johnson]

Scott at Inovative Machine in St. Louis is good and about half the price as Lubbock Gasket.

800-736-1875

 

[mEl]

Gary, you must have had way better luck with Lubbock than I ever had. I needed a special gasket for an engine build that I was doing, sent them a pattern of the top of the block and when the gasket arrived the fire rings were not uniform and some of the fire rings overhung the edge of the sleeve. I could not in good conscience recommend them to others. To eliminate the gasket problem I eliminated the gasket completely, all my builds now are zero deck with no gasket, just a copper fire ring and red rtv to seal the rest. a few feet of copper wire to make the fire rings with and a tube of red rtv and your up and running and save a hundred dollars or so AND you're not dependant on some suppliers whims. mEl

 

[Goldsburg]

Mel -

I will admit that there quality in the past had at times been less than stellar. With that said, the last few sets of head gaskets that I have ordered from them have been some of the best that I have ever received, so I don't mind recommending them lately.

You say that you can save a few hundred dollars by your method? So those fire ring grooves and copper rings are free? ;-))

Your Bud,

Goldsburg

 

[green4bolt]

hey chris call me. local company any thickness, good quality ,and don't have to mess with patterns

 

[mEl]

I strip out #16 electrical wire and use the bare neutral wire left over from wiring jobs and silver solder the ends together with a dot of ss and cut a firering groove in the sleeve, lay the ring in the groove and circle the water ports and edge of block with red rtv. A tube of that probably costs six bucks. Not totally free but probably less than the shipping on anything shipped UPS or USPS. A very high performance engine with this setup requires only standard head torque to maintain an effective compression seal and the rtv does a very effective job sealing the liquids over a long term. Allows me to keep moving on jobs and not be dependant on other suppliers, all done in house and ideal for those hurry up repairs that seem to be part of our sport.

I do my own fire ring grooves as well but have the equipment to support that operation, an advantage not all have to be sure, hope that answers your question.


Glad to hear that Lubbock has picked it up a bit in the quality control department, I'm probably just a bit gun shy from previous experience and now having the ZD system pretty well worked out see no need to change. Respectfully mEl

 

[bgreer]

mEL,

I was just wondering how much crush you typically put on them.

Thanks,
Brian

 

[Anonymous-0]

How deep do you cut the groove?

 

[Goldsburg]

Mel -

I agree that your setup is nice and simple, but as you stated you still have to purchase the equipment to cut the grooves or pay someone for this machine work.

My greater point is that most tractors do not require this level of sealing and that (again for 95% of antique pullers) a Lubbock Gasket, a very cost-effective solution, will easily suffice.

Highest Regards,

Goldsburg

 

[Goldsburg]

I am curious to know how this company is to match custom bore centers, sizes, or offsets without a template?

Regards,

Goldsburg

 

[mEl]

John, .040 deep, .090 wide. mEl

 

[mEl]

About .020 give or take a few thou. If you do your work right, the head will be on the block after torqueing. Another advantage to this system is the head is whatever thickness the gasket was closer to the block, an increase in compression automatically. If you choose to do this system do not overdo the rtv as it will squash out and clog water passages if overdone. mEl

 

[Anonymous-0]

mEl #16 wire @.050 diam allows for.010 crush?

Verrry interesting the steel ones cost me 55.00 w ship + 75.00 for head gasket

al

 

[Anonymous-0]

I trust mel's advice. I bought a gasket from lubbock and it lasted less than 5 minutes with a planed head, decked block and .003 sleeve stand up. I went to the copper wire and it's been holding 12 to 1 since March 2008. Lubbock gaskets are $hit in my opinion and will continue to give them all the advertising they can stand as the aftermath of the failure was not satisfactory to me.

 

[MRGJNV]

Hey Goldsburg. Send me an e-mail would ya? Got a few questions for ya if you don"t mind.

 

[mEl]

A4..I'd have to check but I think it's closer to .060, Whatever it still works great at that crush. How are you doing on your project? mEl

 

[jdth]

I had trouble with the first gasket I bought form Lubbock gaskets. I formed a relationship with the owner of Clark Copper Head Gaskets in Blaine, MN & have had zero issues since. He supplies a great deal of the NHRA, IHRA, etc. competitors. We have a large number of tractor both gas & diesel gaskets mapped & available. All of his gaskets are annealed to a dead soft condition. His contact information is;
Clark Copper Head Gaskets
Richard Clark
Phone: (763)786-9590

Give them a try, you wouldn't be sorry.

 

[a4]

Still gathering parts just had a man from ind. give me dimensions for sleeves he bought from GMS so I can eliminate the guess work.
The rods are the next issue can't afford custom built. may go with an IH dt466 crank.

 

[Anonymous-0]

I ran clark also. with stainless oring wire in the liners to bite into the copper .

 

[Anonymous-0]

Goldie, U wanna talk to the gents who made these for me?

They can answer your question for custom specs on bore locations.

Might be right up the road from you,,, they make em while you wait. Chad

 

[Goldsburg]

Sorry DBoll but my experience with copper is the inverse of yours with Lubbock. I am running the Lubbock composite gaskets at 13 to 1+ without issue (340+ cranking PSI).

And again most tractors do not have 13 to 1 nor do most people want to fuss with copper rings and their grooves. For those people (95% of the pulling population), a Lubbock composite gasket will never have a problem.

Regards,

Goldsburg

 

[Anonymous-0]

I called them after it failed and they didn't seem very concerned or interested in working with me for a solution, was there anything I could have done to prevent it? They only offered to make me another pos for full price. I keep the blown one on the shop wall and am glad to show it to anyone who stops by. Cardboard coated with "Indian Head Shellac" would be just as good as their crap! I'd have to be pretty desperate to give those jerk offs anymore business.