gasket and thermostat housing troubles, leaking carb

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Tue Nov 30, 04 9:45 pm

well i finaly got my charger on the road this weekend after importing it in march - well chuffed

and scared the crap out of the locals as well as snaking its way up the town bypass when i nailed it i was very impressed

but i have a few teething troubles-i need to replace my leaking header to engine gaskets (440), the ones i got from year one are realy thin and crappy and i don`t realy want to fit these as it is pain to change the gaskets so i want to do right first time. are there any good quality thick ones available? if so where? anywhere over here? ( i need an intake gasket as well)also my thermostat housing is still leaking after replacing the gasket and silicone as well. it seems to have warped and coolant seems to be leaking for the housing itself as if the alloy has gone porous, is there an aftermarket housing like on the small-blocks?
and my holley carb leaks fuel out of the float bowl mounting screw heads can i get these on their own or do i have to buy a complete carb gasket kit?

thanks for the advise
sean

Jon · Post by **Jon** » Tue Nov 30, 04 10:16 pm

I made some billet thermostat housings for Dave Billadeau you could ring him and see if he has any left

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Tue Nov 30, 04 10:24 pm

Sounds like you need Real Steal, they are normally very good on standard and performance gaskets etc. Havent got their number handy at the mo, sometimes they advertise in Classic American mag. Also Hauser racing might be worth a try, 01933 312735.

Dave-R · Post by **Dave-R** » Tue Nov 30, 04 10:38 pm

Are the headers actually headers or the stock cast iron type? I was just not sure from your post.

Summit racing sell thick ally and copper header gaskets that really work.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Wed Dec 01, 04 11:17 am

they are aftermarket tubular headers not the cast iron manifolds,
how can i contact dave billadeau?
thanks

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Wed Dec 01, 04 11:20 am

where are summit racing aswell?

Dave-R · Post by **Dave-R** » Wed Dec 01, 04 11:29 am

http://summitracing.com/

Don't get things like gaskets from Year One. They cost far too much from there. Year One are only OK for restoration parts that you cannot just pick up from a general US parts place. Stuff like trim for a particular model. Stuff like service parts get from places like US Automotive and Rodley Motors over here. I use Summit Racing in the USA because they are often the cheapest and right now the dollar is weak.

I use these gaskets and find them to be very good.
http://store.summitracing.com/productde ... 566+303932

Jon · Post by **Jon** » Wed Dec 01, 04 12:16 pm

I've PM'ed you his number

Kev · Post by **Kev** » Wed Dec 01, 04 12:46 pm

Blue has a stock of nylon Holley bowl washers, get a set of 8 from him. Is your thermostat housing square? I have to periodically flatten mine (draw file across the bolt holes simultaneously) Use RTV silicone and a fresh gasket. Philth bought a cast iron housing and it's fixed his woes. (Got it at CustomVille, Ilford) HTH!

Rich · Post by **Rich** » Wed Dec 01, 04 10:42 pm

Is the philthy one still with us Kev??

Kev · Post by **Kev** » Thu Dec 02, 04 2:07 pm

Ya, the Jack Boots at his company woin't allow 'Net access.