Head Gasket Recommendation?

40Pickup

40Pickup

Senior Member
Maybe someone can help me here, 59A block, 59A-B heads with three small water hole in the middle, the engine block has in the middle two large round holes and one trapezoidal.
There seems little Miss matching or should it be so or have I not the right heads? When I look in the MAC's catalog there are two variants of the head gasket, one with small water openings and a second with trapezoidal water openings.
Which should I use? When I disassembled the engine there was a copper gasket with trapezoidal water openings.

Thanks, Jorgen
 
I like the BEST CO. gaskets. I usually use the graftite head gasket but hey also have the copper. Just order your gasket for the 59AB engine and it will be alright. I know all those differant size holes will blow your mind but it will work fine. Walt
 
That's the answer. use the gaskets for the heads not the block. When installing early heads on a late block use the early gaskets and plug the holes you don't need.
 
use copper if you dont want to spend an afternoon scraping the composit gasket off from and around the head studs with a scraper, not fun and can be painful to fingers and knuckles
 
I just used a set of the Best Graphtite gaskets on my 36. I ordered them from Egge.
No leaks and very little change in torque in 3 heatup re-torque cycles.
 
Metal gaskets work fine if you coat the head, both sides of the gasket and then the block with copper coat. Torque down, let set for a day, run and torque down again,. A lot easier to clean up after if you do pull a head and not near expensive as those composition gaskets.
 
Ol' Ron said:
That's the answer. use the gaskets for the heads not the block. When installing early heads on a late block use the early gaskets and plug the holes you don't need.
Click to expand...
Hey Ron. I have a little problem with that statment. I bore alot of those 39-42 blocks to 3-3/16, so i use the 59ab head gasket. If you use the 39-42 std. gasket with .125 bore the the gasket will be in the cyl. And I like useing those A heads with the 3-3/16, really pumps up the compression. I din't know if they make big bore gaskets for 221 engine. Walt
 
The 59A gasket with all round holes (note there's a front and back!) was the latest tuning of water flow and should be used. Check the center holes in heads (if not stock 59) for hole sizes against dimensions in Ford overhaul pamphlet...
Ford called for the center holes on early heads (this might apply to some aftermarket heads) to be drilled out to specific sizes and the 59 type gasket used on all 24 stud engines...so Ford saw no application after the war for the trapezoidal gasket. 59's came with the round hole gasket, early engines were to get heads drilled and get the late gasket when the heads came off...
Block holes rarely match gaskets on any engine. Some holes had to be big for casting purposes, etc., and the engineers tuned the flow at the gasket.
Round.
 
Walt I never thought of that. I figgered all those 3 1/16 gaskets went the way of the gooney bird. Yes I have a set of them on my 8BA econo motor, milled for 040" piston to head clearance. Wakes em right up.
 
Thanks guys, for all your comments, I really appreciate it!

Well, Ol' Ron, I think I have to make me some flathead chili now!

Thanks, Jorgen
 
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