SL6 Forum,

Going through some old EFI builds on the site, I noticed copper head gaskets being utilised at times.

Is running a thicker copper head gasket of say 0.08" compared to say a felpro head gasket of 0.04" going to be an issue on a daily driver?

I ask as it's possibly an option I can use to lower my CR fro 9.9 to around 9.3. This would get the CR in line with Comp 264s cam I currently have running and certainly eliminate some pinging issues i have under certain conditions.

I will ultimately go to a 270/280 cam, Aussiespeed long runner intake and Holley 4 barrel, but this may be an interim step I could take in the mean time.

Any idea on what a custom copper gasket as described would cost? (Note I live in Australia.)

I'm interested in the groups thoughts.

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Love cruising in a bare metal Val!

Sealing copper head gaskets is a royal pain. Most people go copper because they are running a lot of cylinder pressure and there isn't anything else which will hold up. If higher octane fuel is available it's much cheaper and easier to buy that unless you will do a tremendous amount of driving before the cam change. The last time I bought a copper /6 head gasket it was 2008 and it cost near $100.

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Joshua

Id ditch that Comp 264 and go to the 280/270 to lower your DCR.

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Yeah....Im the one who destroyed this rare, vintage automobile.....

Yeah, if your head isn't seeping or weeping water now, why take the chance of it starting by using a copper gasket. It's not a 100% sure thing that it will if using the copper gasket, but it can. Just go ahead and do the cam swap now to correct the issue and only get your hands greasy once.

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There's no such thing as too much cam....only not enough engine!

That would do it.

I agree with Josh. Swapping a cam in-car is not a small undertaking, so if you're not ready to do it soon, I'd just run higher octane fuel for now. Have you played with your valve lash any? If it'll run well with tighter lash, that might also help bring your DCR down a little.

On the subject of cam swapping, what year is your Valiant? Drool tube head or peanut plug?

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Somehow I ended up owning three 1964 slant six A-bodies. I race one of them.
Escape Velocity Racing

Appreciate the comments guys.

Car is an Aussie 1965 Valiant AP6. I've looked into doing an in-car cam swap and believe it is possible.

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Love cruising in a bare metal Val!

Yes, it is possible, but pulling the motor is a much better way to do it, and is probably easier.

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Official Cookie and Mater Tormentor.

I could pull the motor (with 5 speed) in an hour and a half....in my 65 Valaint

Two hours to put it back.

That gives the rest of the afternoon over to the cam swap.

Doing it in the car seems like a chiropractic nightmare.

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Yeah....Im the one who destroyed this rare, vintage automobile.....

This doesn't look that bad.......

http://www.slantsix.org/articles/in-car ... review.htm

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Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes

Comp runs Chevy lobes the lash is .012, anymore than .001 and it gets really salty and doesn't like to run)...

Removing the oil pump sounds like the hardest part to me, unless your particular vehicle has body panels in the way of the camshaft coming out. I've read a lot of posts on this site talking about how difficult it is to swap oil pumps with the engine in the car, but it's supposedly possible if you jack the engine way up and do a lot of wiggling.

Has anyone aside from DD actually done an in-car cam swap on a SL6?

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Somehow I ended up owning three 1964 slant six A-bodies. I race one of them.
Escape Velocity Racing

I suppose you don't have to fully take the engine out........

Maybe just lift the engine until the oil pump has easy access and the cam can go out the radiator opening.........................

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Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes

Will the oil pump come out with the steering in the way? I am guessing an Aussie car is RHD?

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Official Cookie and Mater Tormentor.

You could probably do it,but as you can appreciate it's tight in that area on a LH drive vehicle,the RH steering box ain't going to do you much in the way of favours to make the job any easier. Throw in the time and back breaking labour to pull the harmo,timing cover,oil pump,radiator etc etc all whilst in the car and add in the risk of potential oil leaks I'd be pulling the engine and working on a stand. Degree the cam and seal it up well and it's all good. So what's been machined?? The head or block? If your just trying to lower the comp for now perhaps just put another stock head on,then pull it when your ready to swap cams?