I have a friend that owns a machine shop, but it isn't the type of machine shop that rebuilds engines. I borrowed a depth caliper from him and found out that each of my pistons are .030 to .031 down the bore. Should I use a felpro 1094 with a .015 compressed thickness, or is there a better gasket that I should consider to get my quench correct? I intend to use this for a street car and don't know if quench is important for that, but would assume it would be to reduce detonation..

 

Quench is very important especially if you are running a decent CR.

http://racingarticles.com/article_racing-10.html

http://www.camaros.net/forums/showthread.php?t=124935

http://www.popularhotrodding.com/tec...eze/index.html

 

With the 1094 it should be around 9.9:1 static with my speedpro h345ncp pistons and 67cc Iron Eagle SS heads. Is the felpro 1094 a good gasket for this application, or should I go thicker and lower the CR a little? Will those gaskets hold up to daily driven? Maybe 10K to 15K a year??

 

The 1094 gasket will be fine for every day use.

 

Thanks a lot for the help. I will get those on the way, and get my Z back on the road.

 

It has been suggested on here to spray copper spray-a-gasket on both sides of the 1094 before installation to help with the sealing.
I did and have had no issues with leakage.

Just food for thought.

 

I thought the 1094 had a rubber coating. Do you spray it over that?

 

Hello?? Do I just put the copper over the rubber coating that comes on it?? I've never used steel shim gaskets before.

 

Yes.
Added security.

Remember, technically you're supposed to have perfectly flat surfaces to use this shim gasket or it won't seal.

 

The one I took off was a steel shim. All of the others I saw were way too thick to get a decent quench. Should I throw the quench idea out and use a .039 thick gasket? I just want to do the right thing.

 

Do the right thing and shoot for quench.

 

Thanks for the info.

 

If you had a steel shim before and you had no leaks, you should be fine, but typically you'd put a long steel straight edge across your heads and use a .002" feeler gauge and see if you find any dips. Might be worth verifying first?

 

Oops. No one suggested that yet. They are on now, so I guess I'll just have to hope for the best. It was a crate engine and came with steel shims, but I bought brand new heads. I'll know in a couple of days. I'm not scared to do it over again though.