Valve cover gasket

[John Werner]

79-L82 What did the factory use for the valve cover gasket.

[Joe L.]

Re: Valve cover gasket

John----

1979 Corvettes, both L-48 and L-82, did not use a traditional cork gasket. These Corvettes used Silicone RTV, GM #1052366, instead of a gasket.

[Joe L.]

Re: Valve cover gasket

John----

1979 Corvettes, both L-48 and L-82, did not use a traditional cork gasket. These Corvettes used Silicone RTV, GM #1052366, instead of a gasket.

[John]

Re: Valve cover gasket

Thanks for the information. I would rather use a gasket, but will this take points away?

[John]

Re: Valve cover gasket

Thanks for the information. I would rather use a gasket, but will this take points away?

[Joe L.]

Re: Valve cover gasket

John----

I can't be of much help with respect to the potential loss of judging points; I don't know if NCRS/NCCB protocols call for this feature to be "judged". It would be difficult to detect whether or not a carefully installed gasket had been used in place of RTV, though. Especially, if one were to use one of the thin, black composition gaskets available from Fel-Pro. These don't seal or last anywhere near as well as the thicker, steel cored Cork-Prene, but they won't stand out like those, either.

Having said all that, the RTV silicone "formed-in-place" gaskets can seal VERY well if installed properly. I recommend using Permatex "Ultra Black" instead of the GM sealer I previously mentioned. This is a much newer technology sealer that will seal OIL very well, and looks IDENTICAL to the original GM sealer.

[Joe L.]

Re: Valve cover gasket

John----

I can't be of much help with respect to the potential loss of judging points; I don't know if NCRS/NCCB protocols call for this feature to be "judged". It would be difficult to detect whether or not a carefully installed gasket had been used in place of RTV, though. Especially, if one were to use one of the thin, black composition gaskets available from Fel-Pro. These don't seal or last anywhere near as well as the thicker, steel cored Cork-Prene, but they won't stand out like those, either.

Having said all that, the RTV silicone "formed-in-place" gaskets can seal VERY well if installed properly. I recommend using Permatex "Ultra Black" instead of the GM sealer I previously mentioned. This is a much newer technology sealer that will seal OIL very well, and looks IDENTICAL to the original GM sealer.