Quote: The "fire-ring" in the common Fel-Pro head gaskets isn't exactly round. Why they made them in this silly semi-oval design is beyond me. I went outside and laid a new 1009 Fel-Pro gasket on the deck of a .030 over 440 shortblock I have. The engine in my car is also a .030 440 block so I figure it is a fair mock-up. The quench side is up toward the intake side of the deck and the "fire-ring" does sit very close to the edge of the bore. I don't know if it would actually enter the bore after the head is torqued down but it does sit close.
I have a correction. The head gasket that I checked was a 7891 PT 11. It was in a gasket set I had in the parts shed. I'm not sure of the difference. These same gaskets may be in the engine now. I used gaskets included in the full gasket set.
