Gasket Works, Was Copper head gasket - NO WAY!

[alfacybersite <acs@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Cordova Ralph mentions he believes he saw a 750 or 101 engine on Gasket
Works site. I didn't see it, but would not be in the least bit
surprised.

Quite possibly this subject / thread is incredibly boring to most of
you, but whatcha gonna do when your (for instance) Stage V Sperry Head
is getting more than a bit thin and really should be skimmed? Throw it
away? Dismantle the engine, remove the pistons, have them machined to
lower the compression, and pray?

While I did not deny John Fielding had a very valid concern regarding
copper and aluminum not being the best of friends in an engine, I still
believe the use of a copper head gasket in an Alfa engine, in many
cases, outweighs the negatives - should it become necessary.

John sent me a very polite and informative email this a.m. (not sure if
he's sharing it with the Digest or not) in which he lists the Anodic
Table and essentially shows why the two materials are incompatible. He
had mentioned brass before as another problem material in conjunction
with aluminum - especially with water involved.

In his recent email he mentions the Alfa's lower, rear drain plug is
made of bronze which has a high copper content. He mentions even with
antifreeze in the coolant it causes corrosion.

John F., is there anything safe which can be added to the coolant to
help neutralize the corrosion?

Except that they always seem to be on tight and are hard to get at, I've
never had all that much of a problem with that drain plug. However,
almost every one of the smaller drain plugs on the top of the inlet
manifold (obviously talking about 4-cylinder engines) often gives me
grief. Also, the brass water temperature sender generally has not been a
problem (for me). The end of the Spica's thermostatic actuator is
sometimes a problem. Recently when trying to remove a previously broken
off end of one in a 1750 inlet manifold I literally had to drill it out.
The engine it came from had sat for eons and I got considerably more
white powder than brass shavings.

Would it be helpful to wrap the brass / bronze threads with Teflon tape
before installing? I'd guess at the very least it couldn't hurt.

Apparently they don't teach the Anodic Table in Italian universities.

Still...regarding the head gasket, the water only comes in contact with
the edges of the coolant as it surges through the passage ways. Speaking
of which: On the Gasket works site they imply they can make their
gaskets so that one gets more water circulation at the back of the head.
I also mentioned they made gaskets for marine engines. I'm guessing the
addition of salt in the mix would not be a good thing - unless they do
so for only fresh water craft.

One last positive: Should one be considering installing a turbo or
supercharger, GW could make a very thick head gasket to bring down the
compression. Might not be as good as replacing the pistons with lower
compression ones (I assume custom machined forged pistons) but sure
would save a lot of time and energy.

Biba
Irwindale, CA USA
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