8BA Ignorant Head Gasket Question

L

leon bee

Well-known member
Are the gaskets interchangeable side to side? When I assembled my engine it seemed each one fit a side better than the other, but that was probably my imagination.

I had to pull a head back off, and thanks to my generous application of Coppercoat the gasket sorta pulled apart. I'll probably use it again, but I saw Felpro single gaskets offered somewhere. Thanks!
 
8BA head gaskets are not interchangeable side-to-side due to the distributor and water jacket hole locations. You can see the difference here. The gasket on the top goes on the distributor side of the engine. Notice the "tab" for coolant holes.
https://www.ebay.com/i/131499851248?chn=ps&dispItem=1

Also, the 8BA head gaskets were redesigned in later years to improve coolant flow and cooling.
 
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Thanks, guys! I figured it was maybe just me. Then I saw some singles for sale but never any reference to left or right.
 
All of them I've seen have the word "FRONT" and an arrow embossed on them. Since that logically should be "up" when the gasket is on the engine, it's pretty easy to tell left from right if you run into some singles.
 
Tubman, I remember that marking, but I been working on some off topic vehicles and "logic" doesn't always apply. I gotta say, though, dis and reassembling this 50 Ford, it is one of the most logical machines I've had.
 
I ran across something the other day. When installing aluminum heads on a block, coat the side that faces the head with a coat of Latex paint, to prevent erosion of the aluminum. sounds like simple solution of an old problem.
 
59A gaskets can interchange, but are ususally marked with an arrow. 8BA gaskets are obviously different -(different shape) and would be pretty hard to mix up.
 
leon bee said:
Are the gaskets interchangeable side to side? When I assembled my engine it seemed each one fit a side better than the other, but that was probably my imagination.

I had to pull a head back off, and thanks to my generous application of Coppercoat the gasket sorta pulled apart. I'll probably use it again, but I saw Felpro single gaskets offered somewhere. Thanks!
Click to expand...

You might want to reconsider using it again if it started to come apart; Higher probability it will leak.
 
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