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TR4/4A Best head gasket for a 4A?

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tdskip

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Hi guys, hope everyone is having a good start of their week.

Is there a consensus on the best quality / durable / least likely to have to do it again head gasket for the 4 cylinder engines?

Thanks in advance for the tips.
 
My humble and somewhat inexperienced opinion, I am a TR3 guy but it is basically the same engine, there are a few options available to you, what you decide to install depends on a few factors such as engine configuration, driving habits and personal preference. I found there were four options; copper wrapped composite, a composite gasket and a solid copper or shim steel used on competition engines which are provided in various bore sizes and thickness. The solid copper, like the steel shim gasket, seems to be used mostly, if not exclusively, by racers with high compression engines and the other more widely used copper and composite are available from the usual suppliers are quite common. I think the composite HG available from Moss is a high quality HG and would be quite durable for most uses and does not require gasket sealant I am told. The copper wrapped composite and solid copper do require sealant and are also good well tested and used options. I think it is important to have a good flat head, good head studs (I replaced mine with the ARP High performance studs) proper piston liner height alignment etc. and to correctly install the HG. If you have a quality installation no matter which option you choose, you should be good to go for a long time!
 

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Cometic is the name I keep hearing, for best quality original type head gasket. Payen was good, but my understanding is that they no longer make them.
 
I'm curious about the Cometic gaskets as well - they're sold for Miatas as well as LBCs, and at least one well-respected Miata place (Flyin Miata) seems to believe in their use.
 
So is there a Cometic head gasket for the TR3/4s?

I have used Cometic in several applications on my other British car and they have done well. I particular their composite gaskets are a big improvement over some originals that used paper (water pump, cam covers, etc).
 
It took me three tries to get the gasket to seal on my TR3. first try was with a Payen gasket then a Lucas gasket without the sealing rings because they were not available at the time. All three gaskets were purchased from BPNW or should I say the first one was because they replaced the first two that leaked N/C. First class people at BPNW. The part number for the gasket that did not leak was AE330HDL at $67.00. You can look up the description as it is unlike all the others available. I've only put 1000 miles on the car but so far it's been fine. When I rebuilt the engine I think I should have had the top of the engine block shaved because it did have a few scratches from being in storage. At the time I did not know about the guy who sells different thickness figure-8 gaskets.
 
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