The Photography of Dr. Jeffrey P. Harper

Yes, timing is everything . . . good and bad.  My Cometic 1.5mm (.060) head gaskets finally arrived, but in the meantime I also ordered a set of "standard" cylinder head STUDS, that will take two more weeks to get here.  Why standard size?  Well, I listened here, and to other places and people, about the unusability and unreliable torque readings of reusing the standard head BOLTS, the bottom end is already assembled and in the car and I do not want to disassemble it for the machining, and I am not going for 1000hp.  "Just" 450hp with the blower and an occasional addition 100hp with the dry NOS for big event qualifying.  The good multi-layer Cometic gasket plus the head studs should do the job. I am fully aware of the development path for the "ultimate" 1UZ, so I do not need advice for that kind of project.  I do not want to build a 1000hp 1UZ and then run it at 450hp. I race in a particular drag racing class that does not require me to evolve ever greater amounts of power to be competitive, but rather tune for consistency and predictability run after run. But about that timing:  I leave for a two-week winter photographic expedition to the remote parts of the South Island of New Zealand this Sunday.  Bad timing.

This is how the right and left side Cometic head gasket arrived.

Looks good through the bubble wrap.  These gaskets along with the standard head studs and 60 ft.lbs. of torque should work fine with my combination.