Custom Made Gaskets ?

[gaff]

Does anybody know of a manufacturer who would make me a one-off base gasket. Or better still supply me with a base gasket for a Hiro 350T engine as used in the Armstrong/CanAm 320 Trial.

I totally ruined mine whilst removing the barrell to inspect the piston and bore (proved to be a waste of time as they are both in good condition).

The gasket itself is like a thick plastic with a fine wire mesh within, so therefore, i am not really interested in cutting a Cornflakes box to match

Thanks in advance.

Gaff.

[charliechitlins]

Copper gaskets are now fairly easily and cheaply made with laser and water-jet equipment.

Honestly, though...if the barrel protrudes into the case, the base gasket doesn't do much that can't be duplicated with gasket paper, some sissors and silicone.

If your base gasket is very thick and you replace it with something much thinner, mind your squish clearance.

[brian r]

I've been making a few with my laser. No mesh though, just gasket material.

[gaff]

Thanks for the responce, i actually like the idea of the Copper gasket, will have to look into it.

I made a few phone calls today, and spoke to someone who said he could make a base gasket out of Carbon Fibre ! What do you think, he said that he could get the right thickness to match the original ???

Gaff.

[charliechitlins]

Sounds much more expensive and complicated than it has to be.

A gasket shouldn't be more than a couple of squid or kilos, or whatever you blokes use for money.

[gaff]

Hi Charlie, i realize that this may be a little on the expensive side (

[charliechitlins]

As long as it's flat, I suppose it'll work, it just seems like overkill.

You could use titanium, too. Or gasket paper, which is impregnated with something that resists oil and coolant.

If a cylinder protrudes into the cases, I have often just done away with the gasket and used silicone. This is on applications where there are no passages for oil or coolant, of course.

The reason we need gaskets is to make up for inconsistencies in machining. If we could be sure that machined surfaces were *dead* flat, we wouldn't need gaskets. I have, in fact, lapped a head and cylinder together and run the engine without a head gasket.

As for carbon/graphite in other gasket applications, I'm not too familiar with its properties, but It seems a bit hard. The job of a gasket is to be flexible and conform to a surface in order to make up for machining inconsistencies.