cork or no cork gasket

[Lloyd]

I'm changing the intake manifold 351w. I've never used the cork gaskets on the ends. But i pulled the intake off that was installed by the engine builder. He used the cork gasket. This builder builds a lot of high performance engines. No leaks 4 years of use.
Cork or bead of silicone(right stuff from NAPA) just curious what the general consensus is

LLoyd

 

[Tim Kay]

+1 right stuff

 

[Jack]

Never had a problem with the right silicone either..

 

[Dave P]

I have always used the cork gaskets with a small dab of silicone at each end where gaskets meet. On all my racing motors

 

[Rich Roy]

Also I knerled the surface of the block and intake where it seals, gives it more traction to grip when it heats and contracts, no leaks after. Been doing it since the late sixties when the gaskets and sealant were prime evil.

 

[Jack]

Rich Roy,

Never thought of knurling. What a GREAT idea!

 

[Doug S.]

I have always used the cork gaskets with a small dab of silicone at each end where gaskets meet. On all my racing motors

+1 on this method.....

Cheers from Doug!

 

[Dwight]

I use a punch to "knerl" the area.
I also use gray silicone, the good stuff. I use disc brake cleaner to clean the area before I put the silicone down. I wait 20 minutes or so to let it set up a little, then install the intake.

My buddy the Ford mechanic uses gray silicone and has build a lot of race motors over the years. He is the one that taugh me.

Dwight

 

[Terry Oxandale]

A lot of this decision is also based on how closely the thickness of the gasket matches the gap. Too big a difference (gap being much smaller than the thickness of the gasket) can introduce other problems in trying to compress it. Sounds as though this wasn't an issue if the gasket was already on it, but I've seen differing thicknesses.