"I got well and truly p'eed off with the generic 'block hugger' headers on mine constantly blowing gaskets etc and took Jerrys (Hotrod Lincolns) advice and got a set of these."
Jock,
About 14 years ago I built a new small block Chevy engine for my street rod, a fiberglass replica 1932 Ford roadster. In comparing costs of a high quality "valve job" and my time to clean up the ports of used iron heads versus new aftermarket aluminum heads I found the comparison favored the aluminum heads.
In assembling the engine I used jet hot coated "block hugger headers", the exhaust manifold gaskets that came in an ordinary Felpro gasket set and stainless steel allen head bolts. I did tighten the bolts a few time during the first few hundred miles of driving but after that they couldn't be tightened any more. In the 14 years and about 22,000 miles of driving since the engine assembly and installation there have been zero problems with exhaust leaks. That includes the exhaust ports and also the flange gaskets at the header-exhaust pipe connections and the flange gaskets at the "H" pipe connections.
From that I conclude that if quality gaskets are used and tightened as they initially compress there will be no leaks. I don't know if iron heads are more or less prone to leaks at the exhaust ports than aluminum heads. The actual heads I used were Edelbrock 70cc chamber "Performer RPM" heads.
Last edited by yar; 05/04/2017 12:14 AM.
