Preventing Blown Head Gaskets????

[EarlsflyinCobra]

Another member told me that since I was going to run a Turbo that I should have the block and heads drilled out for 1/2" bolts to replace the 7/16" bolts. Unfortunately my short block is already together and balanced and to drill I would have to disassemble, which I do not want to do. What else, if anything, can I do to try and prevent the "Blown" head gasket problems?????

[RICK LAKE]

Earls couple of things Keep the boost under control. Did you o-ring the heads and block?? If not 10 psi would be the limit. Have a retard system MSD You didn't say what kind of Fuel system you have? If injected I would run min 36 lbs injectors. You live in a hot area, I would look into water injection to control combustion hi temps under boost. Fuel system 255 lbs pump min with a booster pump. fuel line 1/2 inlet and 3/8 return. You can run smalled but you need volume as well as pressure. A lean out will burn holes in the piston in quick times. Air to air intercooler would be nice if you have a place to put it. Which turbos are you using oil only or oil and coolant turbos ? ARP stud kit for the whole motor, no stretch bolts, Rod bolts arp, arp main cap stud kit. Heavy duty cooling system Alum radiator. Oil cooler for the motor. 7 quart oil pan. Mobile 1 oil. 10-30 or 10-40 High volume oil pump. Run the engine a little on the rich side, it's better than lean and mean. Find a speed shop in your area with someone who has the system you want to use and ask alot of question. How go to some of the Speed shops selling kits and do the same. A super charger may be an easier system to live with than a turbo. You will need to put heat shield in the car and under the hood to control the heat. Get a couple of books and read up on this before you start. The power is great but so are the set up problems. Exhaust system, emmission for the street. Good fuel, maybe octane boosters. Heads and cam need to be looked at for the best setup. I'm tired of typing, the list is long, You need the correct amount on back pressure to get the most from the system. EGT system to monitor the exhaust temps. List goes on Got to go Good luck, you know where to find me Rick Lake

[Fred]

Earl,

My only other comment would be to think about lowering the compression depending on the boost you plan to run. I run 36 lb injectors and had no real problem. Changed the heads to flow more exhaust. The smaller CC heads raised my compression to much. Now, I can shred head gaskets at will.

I would like to go to 1/2 head studs but have not figured out exactly how this is done. If I place my block on the bench, the existing 7/16 thread is too large to run a 1/2 tap.

Fred.