Hey Tom Nelson! Thoughts on cyl head sealing?

[rwhite692]

I read with interest the article about the 406 TT Small Block built by Tom Nelson ("F-Bomb") in the current Hot Rod.

Firstly, thanks and kudos to Tom, for openly discussing many of his build methods and philosophies in this article. Great stuff. Can't wait to see that engine in the car!

My question relates to cylinder head sealing methods.

It is obvious that, out of pure necessity, Tom has developed a very stout process for head-to-block sealing (as explained in the article, he is machining the deck and the head with grooves for ss wire sealing rings, and then utilizing an SCE Cu gasket, and sealant).

Given that Tom is attaining some phenomenal boost levels (nearly 30psi!!), the question is, for a home builder such as myself with a relatively mild TT setup, is a sealing method such as this necessary?

If one was to use the "next best" method, not requiring block/head machining(such as multilayered steel gaskets?), then, what method would be best, for an application where boost levels will not exceed about 14psi?

I am certainly willing to spend the additional $ for the additional machine work to ring the block, but, if this is pure overkill for my application, then I would like to just use a method which is well-suited to my (again, relatively mild) application.

Rob