hubcityford Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 Any recommendations on gasket material and/or manufacturers? Seems like I have some leaks and covers need repainting. They are original covers. Thanks Jeremy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machspeed Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 Not sure what engine you have but for my 351 I went with the following: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/fel-vs13264t Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 Not sure what engine you have but for my 351 I went with the following: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/fel-vs13264t Yes, those would be my pick as well. But make sure you make the valve covers flat as they are almost always dented at the bolt holes. That will mean the gasket will be squeezed there but not elsewhere. I turn the valve covers upside down and lay the edge on the edge of my work table, and then use a small hammer to flatten them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rembrant Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 Not sure what engine you have but for my 351 I went with the following: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/fel-vs13264t I have these installed on my '84 302 and I'm quite happy with them. They're only been on there a couple years, but no leaks so far (and I've had the covers off at least once and re-used the gaskets). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hubcityford Posted July 21, 2020 Author Share Posted July 21, 2020 Yes, those would be my pick as well. But make sure you make the valve covers flat as they are almost always dented at the bolt holes. That will mean the gasket will be squeezed there but not elsewhere. I turn the valve covers upside down and lay the edge on the edge of my work table, and then use a small hammer to flatten them. I have 255 V8 but recommended gaskets seem to fit. Do I need to add any gasket sealer or anything when replacing? Also any recommendations when repainting cover. I’m going to clean really well and remove any bad paint. It’s the Ford blue color. Jeremy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dyn Blin Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 Another endorsement of the Fel-Pro Perma Dry Plus on my 351W. Leak free over last couple of years despite a couple of remount cycles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hubcityford Posted August 2, 2020 Author Share Posted August 2, 2020 Not sure what engine you have but for my 351 I went with the following: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/fel-vs13264t I have these installed on my '84 302 and I'm quite happy with them. They're only been on there a couple years, but no leaks so far (and I've had the covers off at least once and re-used the gaskets). I am almost ready to put my covers back on and I got the recommended gasket. Do I need to add a sealant to the gasket? I wasn’t sure for this gasket material. And if you do, do you add to cover side only or both sides? Thanks Jeremy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_S85 Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 Not sure what engine you have but for my 351 I went with the following: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/fel-vs13264t Thats the same gaskets I got for my 306 build. I also got the Felpro permaseal one piece pan gasket as well as the Ford Racing pain rail doublers to stiffen the pan for a better seal with a one piece gasket. Cork is fine but they just dont last. These I like cause you can technically reuse them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_S85 Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 I am almost ready to put my covers back on and I got the recommended gasket. Do I need to add a sealant to the gasket? I wasn’t sure for this gasket material. And if you do, do you add to cover side only or both sides? Thanks Jeremy If you have the one piece rubber gaskets you can put some sealer but personally I dont. I always use rubber gaskets dry outside of the one piece oil pan gasket, I put black RTV in the corners of the block and gasket for a better seal. Many claim you do cork dry and rubber with sealer. I personally do the opposite, I use sealer to affix the cork to the valve covers to make removal easy and I do rubber dry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_S85 Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 I have 255 V8 but recommended gaskets seem to fit. Do I need to add any gasket sealer or anything when replacing? Also any recommendations when repainting cover. I’m going to clean really well and remove any bad paint. It’s the Ford blue color. Jeremy Depends on which blue you got the lighter ford blue and then you have the darker ford blue corporate color. The dark Ford blue the Corporate ford blue was used I believe 1966 to 1982. 82 was a cross over year Ive seen some painted blue and some not. Mine was painted blue and has the blue distributor adapter. For paint, I highly recommend Eastwood`s 2K engine paint youll have to get the primer to get a good base but for just the valve covers youll need one of each. Two of each will do a whole engine. But once you activate the paint you only have 24 hrs of pot life before it hardens in the can. Ive actually got 48 hours out of a couple cans but 24 hours is what Eastwood states. Also be careful, eastwood strongly states these paints have a 2 year shelf life and the some $60 I spent on four cans for my build are from late 2017 which means they are almost 3 years old now and I wont be using them for my build I will be using them on other things that if they dont spray right no big deal I can strip it again. For the engine itself I will be getting new cans and this time I will buy them when I am ready to paint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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