gen 1 vortec gaskets

[JointTech]

i need to get gaskets for a gen 1 350 and Im putting vortec heads on it.
Can somebody tell me if this will work.

I need headbolts: Chevrolet Performance Head Bolt Kits 12495499
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/nal-12495499

intake gaskets: MS98000T
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/fel-ms98000t
it looks like that has valve cover gaskets as well and I cant tell what the other gaskets in the picture are for.

Head gaskets: HELP? Am I looking for head gaskets for any vortec 350 or should I look for something special.

Rest of the gaskets for a gen1. Not sure if I should just get a full kit and toss the head and valve cover gaskets in a drawer or get the timing cover, disty, oil pan, thermo, waterpump... i think thats it.... seperatly.

[mechanicalman]

I've read about many people using the .015" thick steel shim rubber coated 1094 felpro head gaskets on Vortec heads with good results. If your engine is stock it will give you 9.3 to 9.4:1 compression ratio plus .040" quench, and that is ideal. Don't try to lower your compression with a thicker gasket as the pre-ignition will only worsen due to too much quench clearance.

Just make sure you use Teflon paste on the head bolt shoulders. Some people use steel shim gaskets without sealing the bolt shoulders then blame the gaskets when the bolts leak. The bolts you chose look right for your application, torque them to about 65 foot pounds.

The intake gasket set you are looking at is for a Vortec 350 engine, and yes it has valve cover gaskets. The rest of the gaskets are the plenum gaskets for the fuel injected intake manifold. It's not a sure thing they will work with YOUR intake manifold.

Use the intake gaskets AND bolts recommended by the intake manifold manufacture. For instance, Edelbrock recommends a certain gasket for their manifold and certain bolts, while others just say to use stock stuff. It can get tricky because some call for different thickness gaskets for different manifolds. Also, don't exceed their torque specs as the gaskets may split.

I'd get the appropriate 1 pc full rubber/steel jacketed oil pan gasket, plus a timing cover set (front cover gasket, seal, water pump gaskets, fuel pump gaskets), t-stat gasket, valve cover gaskets, dist, and rear main seals separately. You will have to determine if you have a "thin" or "thick" front oil pan seal area to get the right 1 pc gasket. If it's a pre-'75 engine it's a thin, if it's a '80 or up it's a thick, if it's 75-79 it could be either. If it's an aftermarket oil pan, it's likely a thin. Hope this helps.

Multi-piece oil pan gaskets usually come with both size front seals, but they are leakage-prone.

[JointTech]

thanks for the info. I think I have a 2 piece rms engine.
Looks like it willbe cheaper to get the gaskets seperately as they dont seem to have an all-but heads and intake set.

[mechanicalman]

Check the sealing surface for wear groove and/or pitting. Steel cranks are less likely to have this problem.

If it needs attention, victor makes an off-set lip on one of their seals. Only problem it's a one-shot deal as their seal has no dust lip just the oil lip. If its OK, just use a premium RMS.

Use a thin haze of anaerobic sealer each side of main cap to block surface or other gasket sealer, just don't use so much that it interferes with the main seals themselves. Some people off-set the seals slightly so as to not align with the main cap to block surfaces to avoid sealer contamination.

Always run a good inspection cover for maximum rear main/transmission front seal life.