Forum for discussion of MG and MGB motorsports, historic and current (SCCA, NASA, VARA, etc) car preparation, engine, bodywork, suspension, drivetrain modification.
Well next step in my MGA 1600 engine rebuild is to set and torque down the head. The head was milled, the block was not decked but was checked for flatness and given a big OK by the machine shop, I'm using a Payen gasket with ARP hardware and I have countersunk the head bolt holes. What if anything is recommended as a head gasket sealant?
Thanks,
Rich O'Connell
Colorado Springs
With the black Payne gasket, no sealant is needed as long as your head and deck are both as smooth as a mirror. Basil
I use Permatex Hitack on the Payne black composite gasket on the race engine, it's perfectly true what Basil says the the black composite gaksets can go on dry, and thats exactly what I do my street engine, but on the race engine I use the Hitack, because should you need to remvoe a head gasket quickly at the track, it prevent the black composite material form sticking to the head and/or block and tearing making clean up eaiser and also allowing you to reuse the haed gasket should you need to, the Hitack on the gaskets seals fine, I did this for years. The reason myself and many others starting doing this was we used the Metro Turbo head gasket on our high compression 1275 race engines and were tryting out best to get more than one use out of the $200 head gasket. So in short this does nothing to hurt seal, aids it if anything and make clean up and saving the head gasket alot easier. The Payen MGB head gasket is not terribly expensive, but using the hitack makes clean up alot easier.
If you are using the Payen copper head gasket, then use copper spray, or Hitack for sure, never install a copper head gasket dry.
Hap, I had a racing buddy that used to spray his copper gaskets with Rustoleum "Cold Galvanizing" spray. Have you ever tried that stuff? Basil
So, is it the thin layer of soft metal within the paint pigment that promotes the better seal?
Rich
Silver paint....that is interesting because an oooold mechanic I knew once many years ago
used to paint head gaskets with silver paint on Ford flatheads.
Must be something to it.
I've found that hylomar around the water ports down the pass. side of the B block on the black payen stops those small weeps over time, hylomar also never dries so easy to cleanup I only use a small amount of course just around the small passages for water...
BBB