[Mg-mmm] Re. PA side curtains & head gaskets

[Lawrie Alexander]

Thanks to all who replied on the subject of the side curtain stowage. Tommm 
Metcalf's advice that they originally stowed into a Rexine pouch tight 
against the seat back makes sense - although their top edges would protrude 
about 3" above the seat back as the drive-shaft hump prevents them sitting 
all the way down. At least they would be relatively neatly and securely in 
place. A pouch, therefore, is in my car's future .....

Many of you asked about the composition head gasket I used, and several 
folks wondered why. Here, then, is the rest of the story .....

When I first started the re-built (by Mike Allison) engine, there were 
several problems evident. One was a leak of coolant between the head and the 
block on the exhaust manifold side. I checked the torque of the head nuts 
and found my wrench didn't click till 50 foot pounds so I assumed they were 
adequately tight. Then, after just 130 miles, the core plug on the top of 
the head popped out and all the coolant mixed with the oil. Considering all 
the other engine problems I had had, I decided to remove and completely 
strip the engine. To be safe, I bought a new copper head gasket, new studs 
and nuts, along with various other parts to set the head up properly. Mike 
Dowley gave detailed instructions on how to anneal the new copper head 
gasket, which I followed very carefully. This, I might add, after checking 
the gasket on the block to make sure there was adequate clearance around the 
pistons as the engine is .060" overbored; I did have to remove some copper 
from each of the combustion spaces.

Eventually, the engine was back together and back in the car. It started and 
ran nicely for a brief road test. Three days later, I tried to start it and 
found it would not turn over as number 3 cylinder was full of water! I had 
used the black "Heldite" jointing compound on the twice-annealed copper 
gasket, and the new studs and nuts had been progressively (and in the 
correct sequence) torqued to 41 ft. lbs., all per his instructions. I 
wondered, therefore, if the head might have a crack in it.

Upon removal of the head, however, it was obvious from witness marks that 
the coolant had leaked past the gasket into the cylinder. There was also 
evidence of some coolant in the other three cylinders. Since the head and 
block had been carefully surfaced, I could only conclude that either 41 ft. 
lbs. was inadequate to clamp the copper gasket - or there had to be a better 
material for the gasket.

I contacted a friend and asked whether he knew of anyone making custom 
composition gaskets as the only company I was aware of made copper head 
gaskets in various thicknesses. He suggested I try "Gaskets-to-Go" in 
Thailand (www.gasketstogo.com). An e-mail to them, describing my problem, 
received a very positive response, suggesting three different types of 
composition gasket. (The company owner is obviously Anglo as the e-mail was 
written in perfect English!) I made a tracing of my copper gasket and mailed 
it to him, then quickly received the response that they could make my gasket 
with no problems. He replied as follows: "I  would suggest a gasket made out 
of a high-quality metal reinforced composite with all the water passages 
bushed in copper, and steel fire rings. To do that in a quantity of 1 to 5 
gaskets would cost $39.95 each, with shipping for one gasket by registered 
airmail $8.95. Lead time from receipt of a sample or good drawing would be 
10 days. Shipping by registered airmail would take from 10-14 days depending 
on location."

Subsequently, I ordered two gaskets for the grand total of $92 including 
shipping and sent the old copper gasket to them to use as a pattern. My new 
ones arrived about three weeks later. On my original tracing I had failed to 
note that the front left and right rear stud holes are slightly larger than 
the other stud holes (for the locating sleeves) and they did not pick up 
this detail from the copper sample. Other than that, the gaskets fit 
perfectly. (I was able to enlarge those two holes quite easily.

I installed one of the gaskets, using spray Copper-coat sealer per his 
suggestion and torquing the nuts to 45 ft. lbs. So far, I have had 
absolutely no further problems with the head gasket and the engine seems to 
be running as well as I would have hoped after the original English rebuild.

So, I can heartily recommend this company for head gaskets for any car - and 
they do now have the pattern for a 60 thou. overbored PA engine.

Cheers,

Lawrie