Fel pro?

[1956322]

Anyone use the fel pro valve cover gaskets..I  can  get them through my work cheap but they don't look right they have tabs along the outside like they pop into the cover.. Of course our covers aren't designed like that...56 322

[buick man]

…. then don't use them … get the correct cork gaskets from an authorized reseller for  "BEST GASKETS-T.M." brand gaskets ….

[Beemon]

The Fel Pro gaskets are sold through NAPA. Just cut the tabs off with a razor.

[old-tank]

5 hours ago, Beemon said:

The Fel Pro gaskets are sold through NAPA. Just cut the tabs off with a razor.

...as long as it fits otherwise.  Or make your own using cork/rubber sheet.  Past over-tightening makes those nailhead cover bulge the middle...correct that by swishing in a vise.  Glue the new gasket to the valve cover and install dry or your choice of sealer. 

[avgwarhawk]

10 hours ago, 1956322 said:

Anyone use the fel pro valve cover gaskets..I  can  get them through my work cheap but they don't look right they have tabs along the outside like they pop into the cover.. Of course our covers aren't designed like that...56 322

 

I use them. No issues.  Razor off the tabs. Black gasket goo and all set  

[NTX5467]

Fel-Pro has been around at least since the later 1960s, as a brand.  Back then, I didn't think too much of them compared to OEM, but that was THEN.  When I started hanging around engine machine shops and investigating such things, Fel-Pro also began expanding their product lines in all areas.  By observation, their technology in gasket design has kept pace with OEM upgrades for current production vehicles and race engines.  NO problem with them, from what I've seen.

 

Almost all of the 1950s-era V-8 valve cover gaskets had "leak" issues, even back then.  Chrysler added some outer end screws, which helped, but they'd all eventually start to seep/leak.  Hammering the bolt holes was a common labor op for those valve covers due to bolt torque deforming the cover's seal surface.  More torque = better seal?  Not quite!  Probably one reason for the popularity of cast aluminum valve covers on the 1950s-70s engines?

 

I saw enough "yellow goop" being laboriously scraped from valve covers, which didn't do anything to stop the leaks (the yellow stuff, that is) that going up "dry" was a better option.  What happens is that the oil will wick through the rubber/cork gasket until it gets to the outside edge of the gasket (and the light of day).  Original engine paint was a final barrier, until it cracked, by observation.

 

What I have found to work well is to put a thin layer (finger-smeared) of black high-heat silicone sealer on all surfaces of the gasket, then let it cure for a day or so prior to installation.  The sealer will also give the base gasket enough added body to allow it to be laid upon the cylinder head and then the cover installed.  It also seals the gasket from oil intrusion/wicking, too.  AND . . . when it might be time for removal, it comes off "cleanly".  THAT matters to me!  Intake gaskets the same way, plus many other paper-type gaskets, including the carb base gasket/manifold interface.  My Mr. Gasket gasket scrapper has seen less use that way.  My silicone sealer "trick" can make even an inexpensive gasket work well, I suspect, as long as there are no installation issues.

 

I have no issues with Best Gasket as I have not used that brand.  Didn't even know of them until they were mentioned in these forums.  Be that as it may.  In many cases, we deal with what we can acquire locally, which is where NAPA and similar can come in.  Unless I can find something significantly better from an online/discount vendor (rockauto, for example), I generally prefer to purchase locally where I can look the salesperson in the eye, if needed.

 

Whatever works . . .

 

NTX5467

[Bhigdog]

18 hours ago, Beemon said:

The Fel Pro gaskets are sold through NAPA. Just cut the tabs off with a razor.

 

TABS! We don't need no stinkin tabs..................Bob

[NTX5467]

I went back into the Best Gaskets website.  There are some popular vehicles/engines they don't have gaskets for, but the gaskets they do have seem to be fully-modern in materials and orientations AND for a plethora of pre-1960 engine families.

 

It also mentions on the website that if they are out-of-stock when your order arrives, they might get some emergency inventory from other companies in order to fill your order.  ALSO there are some links to suppliers of "custom made" gaskets for particular low-activity car line engines, which is neat.

 

One thing I didn't see was a "Specs" page that better detailed particular head gasket build-thickness and/or graphical illustrations of their construction.  As if the "fire ring" around the cylinder's bore was stainless steel or an alloy thereof.  I haven't seen or touched any, but what I saw was positive.  Always best to have several sources to pull from when doing projects!

 

NTX5467