well first, I'd go back and remeasure... measure so that both sides of the piston are equal to get the height, OR measure the min and max on both sides, and then take the median number.

Clearance is easy though.. if theyre sticking .013 out of the hole, then with a .049" compressed gasket it's just .049 - .013 to get the quench/clearance. Or .036"... it probably wont stretch that much, but I wouldnt usually run it any closer than .036 on street stuff. Depends on how far youre gonna turn it and with what stuff. It'll probably be okay on a blowermotor b/c i doubt youll spin it that hard....

 

ok, i understand now

i have a turbo motor and max rpms are going to be around 6500rpm and i'm not going to spin it that high everytime

my gasket compressed is .039

so.... .039-.013=0.26

So maybe just a thicker gasket

 

yep. That is the best answer I can think of

 

So actually, if i could get a gasket that is .049 compressed that would put my quench @ .036 and that would be pretty good imo or am i not thinking correctly?

 

Your right on. Hell a .051 would be even better in my book. Just some safety room

 

What about one of those head gasket shims?

or do you think i would have trouble keeping them sealed @ 15-20psi?

I found a .015 shim that i could use and it would bring me to 0 deck and my gasket would leave my quench @ .039

 

Whoohoo.....problem solved

Took a little digging but i found a head gasket that is thick enough and that will work without being a copper one

Its fel-pro 1044 and its a steel wire and not copper, but oh well it says minimal brlling of aluminum heads

Its a compressed thickness of .051

So it should put my quench roughly between .039 and .036 depending on how much the piston rocks in the bore

Now my last question is:

With the piston coming .015 out of the hole, is the top ring going to be too high towards the top of the deck to create any problems or nay?

thanks for EVERYONE'S help

 

Most rings are .180 down from the top of the pistons so you should be o.k.

I rarely have heard of them above .150 so it's o.k.

 

AFAIK the Fel-Pro 1044 is for a 400ci Gen I SBC, not an LTx, and it has a 4.20" bore. The only Fel-Pro gasket I've ever seen for an LTx is the #1074

Rich Krause

 

I dont have an LT1....but thank you for the distinction

 

Oops, I did it again (didn't read the thread carefully). I think that the #1044 is for a 400 though and if memory serves (been a while since I looked at a 400 block) the coolant passages are different. I think you can modify the gasket to work by drilling a few holes however.

Did you look at GM #12557236 which is for a 350 block and has an 0.051" compressed thickness? It is designed for use with aluminum or iron heads according to my catalog.

Good luck.

Rich Krause

 

Nope

LOL, i'll have to take a look...you da man

The coolant passages really aren't different in a 400, they just have the steam holes drilled in the gasket. If you look in the fel-pro catalog it says you can use it for 265-400 small blocks and under the "note" it says steam holes drilled for 400

Well i looked @ SDPC and they have them for 13.50 a piece which kinda makes me think they aren't tough gaskets, and with 15lbs-20lbs of boost i dont want to be changing gaskets constantly