dsolomon

I found a set of Fitzgerald head gaskets at Carlisle this weekend. The seller says they are correct for a 1970 Olds 350. The are embossed steel with a .019 CT. Anyone have any experience with these?

dsolomon

I purchased these gaskets and one was a McCord and not Fitzgerald. It is the same in thickness, profile and material with one exception. It appears to be for a earlier oldsmobile 350 and does not have a tab in the center to locate the gasket. From what I understand earlier oldsmobile blocks had two pins towards the outside of the block. At some point they added a third boss in the block and moved one pin inward so the gaskets could only install one way. This McCord gasket does not have the center tab and my block does not have an outer pin. The gasket will only be located on one pin.
Attached is a Cometic gasket that I marked up to better explain. One of the gaskets, made by Fitzgerald, is correct for my motor. It has tabs in locations B and C which match my engine.
The second gasket, is made by McCord and although it is the same in thickness, cutouts and sealing rib design, it was made for an earlier engine. It has tabs in locations A and C. My engine does not have a pin in location A.
I contacted the supplier and he suggested using a thin film of chassis grease to hold the gasket in place while I installed the head. Any thoughts on this?