Never made it that far down the “things to do” list on Friday Cletis, I just ran out of hours this week. I spent all day yesterday and most of the evening composing short stories for the Bolt and VCCA chat then trying to find a retail outlet for phosphoric acid at a reasonable price then chasing down parts and tools.

Best Gasket! Thanks, great write up on the history, in fact the whole site is full of tips and pointers. I see now that they were mainly on the left coast years ago. That’s probably why back here we never heard of them. So like Fel-Pro they’re a good old US company also, I like that. If the guys out on the coast grew up using locals like Jack Best Gaskets back in the day, then I can’t help but wonder if our local Chicago Fel-Pro brand was as unknown to them as their Best was to us in the Midwest?

I’ve got a couple of Best engine sets here, one I got from a resto-vendor pn RS502G and the other that the machine shop needed for the front plate gasket when they rebuilt the short block pn RS502C. I didn’t notice before that the part number suffix was different but now I see what the ’G’ & ’C’ (Graf-Tite” and Copper) stand for.

Their web page sure clears up in my mind the Copper or Fiber question that initiated this thread. Also I’ve often sat in on discussions over two things, one is the use of a gasket sealer on a head gasket and the second is whether to re-torque. I’ve always walked away shaking my head because like politics 49% think right, 49% think left and the rest of us just don’t know for sure.
Best makes it very clear with this statement: “Install using a spray-on sealant like K & W Copper Coat or Permatex Copper Spray-A-Gasket. Always re-torque, no short-cuts.”

Ya wrapped this one up like a Christmas present Charlie, that’s why you the man.
Thanks,
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Denny G
Sandwich, IL