[rexs73gto]

I had to rebuild the engine in my car because of an oil pump problem & went ahead & bought the gasket kit from Butler. When I got the kit & opened it up I was not impressed with the head gaskets. They looked like a very cheap head gasket . I put them on & it was very hard to get them in place as I have studded my heads & the gaskets wouldn't go down without a lot of pushing. At 1 point I had to use a socket to push it all the way down flat on the block. Once it was down it looked ok but I didn't feel good about it. I have never liked putting copper seal on a head gasket , at least not in the last 20 years. I got the engine back together & it ran good & seemed trouble free. I had about 1 hour on it & took it to a show near me & I got about 15 or so miles on it & BANG, the head gaskets both blew out. The heads were installed like all my engines & with these gaskets I had to retorque the heads according to the instructions & in doing this I had to turn the nuts on the studs a very long way, more then what I would call normal. These were just very cheap gaskets & even though Butler said they use these gaskets on there engines I don't believe this now. When I took off the heads after they blew I could see the heads didn't seat on the block at all at the top side as I could see it in the way the gasket didn't fit to the block surface. What now I think happened was the gasket puckered up when it didn't fit down on the block & caused it to blow because it didn't seal at all on the top part of the block at all. From this experience I do not recommend the head gaskets that come in the gasket kit from Butler. I know they have a few other head gaskets they use & sell. If your getting a gasket set or just individual gaskets from Butler make sure it's not the ones they sell for the kit as they are just cheap junk & won't seal on your engine. I now have installed some new Fel-pro head gaskets on the block tonight & they fit so much better & they went on so nice. Plus I won't have to use an extra sealer or retorque the heads either. I should have stopped when i saw how cheap they were in the beginning but thats my fault ,,, don't let it happen to you. Get the good head gaskets for your build, so you don't have to go through what I'm going through right now. Saving a little at 1st. isn't worth it.

[Alvin]

Thanks for the FYI any pix?

[b-man]

I've used the Butler head gaskets on several engines over the years.

Never had any issues with any of the engines I've used them on.

One set I used on my '64 GTO with a '74 455 bottom end and a '71 455 HO top end. I raced it for ten straight years and after that it sat for over 4 years before I started driving it again on the street. Those gaskets held up for over 20 years while I owned it, I sold the car a couple of years back. Never went back and re-torqued them either, on any engine I've used them on.

Another set I put over 30K miles on over a five year span in a daily-driver '73 455 that was in my '64 Tempest.

Used them on a few other engines as well, never blew any head gaskets using them.

They're good gaskets from my experiences with them, I have another set I'm going to use on a fresh '64 421 HO.

[tom s]

Did you copper coat the gaskets as the directions say?I have used those gaskets for at least the last 15 years and have never had a blown gasket.They are a repunch of the original GM gaskets.Another thing is they make combustion chamber specific gaskets.One set for the early valve angle and another for the later valve angle.Sorry you had a issue but I think yours is the first I have actually read about.Tom

[rexs73gto]

I truly wish I'd had that luck with mine. But I to don't understand why they went , but both went & yes I did use the copper spray on the gaskets. I also went back & retorqued the heads after about 4 hours . As I said though, they didn't seem to fit very good when i put them on. But they blew on the top side(intake side) so bad that it looked as though it wasn't even touching the block side. The retorque didn't feel right either. This is the 1st engine I've had any problems with head gaskets ever. Other things yes , but no head gaskets. I've got the heads already back on with new Fel-Pro gaskets so i don't have any pics because I had to get it going as I have a show to go to on Wed.

[tom s]

99 out of a 100 head gaskets on a pontiac blow between the center cyc.Cant figure out a reason to blow where you say.Bad luck for sure.Tom