Chevrolet Performance SBC Head Gaskets

[Procharged 434]

Hi, we are building a street driven .030" over 350(355) SBC. It will have a small B&M 144 Supercharger on it with maybe 6 psi of boost max. The piston is .012" in the hole, so we are looking to use the Chevrolet Performance 14096405 head gasket, so that we end up at our desired .040" Quench, and 8.92 compression. That gasket has a 4.100" bore and is .028" compressed thickness, and says it is Stainless Steel on one side, and Graphite on the other side. Since we are going to see mild boost, we were looking for a gasket with the "preflattened Oring", like the Felpro 1003 advertises, but can't really find any info if this particular gasket has that or not. So my question is, will this engine be fine with these Chevrolet Performance head gaskets with the mild low boost? To be honest, we have ran just the stock replacement Felpro on it in the past with low boost, without any issue, but we would like to try these Chevrolet Performance gaskets to improve our quench and compression.

Thank You

[Ericnova]

Mahle Original/Clevite/Victor Rienz #5746 is the same gasket at less than 1/2 the price as GM is charging.

One source I know of...

http://www.competitionproducts.com/Mahl ... o/VIC5746/

http://www.competitionproducts.com/Powe ... /PVT45746/

They work well with aluminum heads.

[tenxal]

I've used the Mahle #5746 several times....great product. The published compressed thickness dimension has varied several times as the same gasket went through the Victor, Victor-Reintz, and Mahle-Clevite name changes. The actual compressed thickness has never changed, though. The ones I have measure .026 compressed. Hell of a good gasket.

https://www.cnc-motorsports.com/mahle-o ... -pack.html

The only downside is that they are nasty to clean off the deck/heads. A carbide edged scraper is what you want when it's tear down time.

[turbo camino]

So if I see a listing for the Mahle 5746 somewhere, and it states the compressed thickness is .040", it's safe to assume that's just an error?

[CGT]

Those gaskets are fine as long as I'm not the one cleaning them off the next time the engine is apart. I'd put a .027 cometic on it.

[turbo camino]

And the Cometics are fine as long as somebody else is buying them. $80 each? Shirley it'd be a waste to use such nice gaskets on a production block, might as well go aftermarket. Also, the heads are a few seasons old, best write another check for new ones while we're at it. You know, that crank isn't a non-twist forging, it's always bugged me...

[BOOT]

So if I see a listing for the Mahle 5746 somewhere, and it states the compressed thickness is .040", it's safe to assume that's just an error?

I usually try n check a few places for headgasket specs and go with the majority or check the catalog.

I am gonna mention the Mahle headgasket in an upcoming vid(also mentioned it in a past vid) so I saved the specs

[CGT]

And the Cometics are fine as long as somebody else is buying them. $80 each? Shirley it'd be a waste to use such nice gaskets on a production block, might as well go aftermarket. Also, the heads are a few seasons old, best write another check for new ones while we're at it. You know, that crank isn't a non-twist forging, it's always bugged me...

Yeah, I get them for closer to 50.00 and reuse them. And they clean up real nice. To each their own.

[cgarb]

And the Cometics are fine as long as somebody else is buying them. $80 each? Shirley it'd be a waste to use such nice gaskets on a production block, might as well go aftermarket. Also, the heads are a few seasons old, best write another check for new ones while we're at it. You know, that crank isn't a non-twist forging, it's always bugged me...

Yeah, I get them for closer to 50.00 and reuse them. And they clean up real nice. To each their own.

50 a piece...I'll take 2 sets

[CGT]

And the Cometics are fine as long as somebody else is buying them. $80 each? Shirley it'd be a waste to use such nice gaskets on a production block, might as well go aftermarket. Also, the heads are a few seasons old, best write another check for new ones while we're at it. You know, that crank isn't a non-twist forging, it's always bugged me...

Yeah, I get them for closer to 50.00 and reuse them. And they clean up real nice. To each their own.

50 a piece...I'll take 2 sets

Lol. I have a friend with a huge buy-in that helps me out. I guess i didnt realize what a great deal it was until looking around.

Then again....i would pay 80.00 ea for them for most of what i do. They tend to be problem solvers, excellent quality, and reusable.

Ive used cheaper head gaskets plenty...including the GM gaskets the OP asked about. They were a good value when they were 20.00...now they are twice that. And the graphite type gaskets are a pain to clean up if and when you go back in.

[cgarb]

I run them also, they are the best head gaskets I have ever used. I have used some cheaper stuff on budget builds, the shim style GM or felpro SBC gaskets, and I used to run Corteco head gaskets on my SBF. They were really good gaskets and pretty cheap.

[Procharged 434]

Thanks for all of the good info guys, it is appreciated. So, do y'all think the .028" GM gasket would hold up fine with 6 psi boost on the street, assuming the tune is decent of course?

[BOOT]

Ive used cheaper head gaskets plenty...including the GM gaskets the OP asked about. They were a good value when they were 20.00...now they are twice that. And the graphite type gaskets are a pain to clean up if and when you go back in.

There are cheaper GM ones that are 99% identical to the Mahle, still a bit more than the Mahle and they are suppose to be smaller bore but same bore as the Mahle. I'm not sure if I got the wrong ones or they are just listed everywhere wrong or GM changed the specs(prob made by Mahle). I plan to go into it more in a future vid, actually after this thread I may buy a couple more gaskets to compare. Been planing on doing that vid for awhile now but been biz viewtopic.php?f=1&t=61545&p=868939#p868939

[turbo camino]

Man, why even bother with building engines? I'd set up an automated store and sell those buddy-deal gaskets on ebay for $60 and spend the rest of my days on the beach.

[CGT]

OP, check out GM# 10105117. Production GM L31 gasket. .028 thick and can be had for around 20.00 if you look around. It would be fine like any of the gaskets mentioned for your engine in my opinion....as long as the top of your bores haven't been "over-chamfered".