Headgaskets

[ronbarn]

Orphan car needs new headgasket. Have old one for a good pattern. Is there a source for "blank" headgasket material or a source to make new gaskets? I found some good material years ago, but it is all gone and I can't remember where I got it.

[Albert]

If you get really hard up for a head gasket,get a piece of copper the same thickness, do all your cutting of the holes and shape etc. then heat it red hot and drop it into water to cool, this will make it soft, then install it. I have a head gasket in one of my motorcycles made from a piece of 3" copper pipe sliced and flattened.

[pistoncollector]

Ron,

There is a company on the West Coast that makes custom head gaskets and supplies the material. I don't know its name but can find out for you as our mutual freind Mr. Greenfield has used them a number of times. Call me.

Paul

[Chris Bamford]

It shouldn't be hard to find a source for gasket material, or custom headgaskets, in any region with a decent industrial base.

One morning in 1998 I determined my 1937 Morris Eight needed a new headgasket -- the local British car repair shop said they could bring one over from England...expensive plus freight plus downtime. I then checked under Gaskets in the Yellow Pages, called one outfit who referred me to another, located about a mile from the car.

Was there at 10:30 AM with the original, and the counter guy said Dad and I were welcome to watch the guy in the back make our gasket. It took him about 1/2 hour to lay it out, punch and trim. The cost was about $65 Cdn, and we were home by lunch.

Bonus: since these guys made a great many cusom gaskets fom a variety of materials, their shop garbage was overflowing with odds and ends, off-cuts and scraps. We were welcome to pick though and got a dandy grab bag of misc. gasket stock for the garage. Dad's gone now, and whenever I make a gasket I am pleasantly reminded of that morning we spent on the Morris, years ago.