RB intake install. Valley pan alone, or gaskets too?

hey guys it's been several years since I changed RB intake manifold gaskets.

do I use just the valley pan or do I also need to use side gaskets.

If I remember back to my youth, I would normally just use the valley pan. in fact it wasn't until I first installed a tunnel ram back in 1999 that I can even remember seeing side gaskets included in the valley pan box.

I will be installing aluminum intake if that makes a difference.

People have used the pan with and without gaskets and with and without sealer. (1) mockup & check that the intake/head interface angles are machined correct. (2) mockup the intake and valley pan & check the bolt hole/port height match. I use Permatex #1 on iron intakes and #2 on alum intakes, a thin wide swath around each of the 8 port holes in the metal valley pan on both sides. "superperformance" on here offers thin .015" fiber gaskets for reasonable money & Felpro has thick ones that come with the valley pan at your parts house.

For my recent 440 build, we used a new valley pan and sealer only.

Just the valley pan unless there is a reason to need something more to seal it.

On my engine the ports were bigger than the valley pan, so I had to grind the valley pan to fit. I was worried that I had to grind some of it pretty thin in some spots, so I glued the paper gaskets to each side for some extra insurance.

Have just used the pan and nothing else since the 60s.I do use a dab of RTV in the 4 corners and a bit where the hold downs go.Thats it and never any problems.Rocky

Thanks guys thats what I was remembering. Although I do recall one intake, a CH4B i think it was, that I had to use two fiber gaskets on each side to get holes to line up.