'72' 351c
 

THIS MAY SOUND LIKE BASIC QUESTION TO SOME OF YOU GUYS, BUT CAN SOMEONE HELP ME OUT, I'M REPLACING THE CARB,MANIFNOLD ON MY MACH 1 AND I'M NOT SURE THAT I'VE BEEN TOLD THE RIGHT ANSWER..WHEN I REMOVED THE INLET MANIFOLD GASKET (METAL PAN)I REMOVED SOME KIND OF SUBSTANCE FROM THE SURFACE OF THE HEADS WHERE THE PORTS ARE,NOW I'VE BEEN TOLD THAT THE SUBSTANCE WAS A FIBRE GASKET,BUT I'VE ALSO BEEN TOLD BY TWO AMERICAN CAR (PROFFESSIONAL)MACHENIC'S, THAT IT WAS A GASKET SEALENT,I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT I SHOULD DO, PURCHASED A NEW INLET MANIFOLD BUT IT DIDNT COME WIHT ANY FIBRE GASKET'S . WELL I HOPE SOMEONE CAN PUT MY MIND AT REST ...STEVE...

I too removed the manifold on a 71 Cleveland to find this goo on the heads. I took it for granted this was some kind of adhesive. I did find out that some folks put fiber gaskets along with the pan's gaskets on the engine. Anyway, everything I've read about them says you can go without any king of goo on the metal and it is ok to use fiber gaskets along with the metal pan.

Re: '72' 351c
 

The goo you see is the actually the goo that is sold with a new intake gasket(that metal pan is the gasket) for the 72 351C. I just went thru this nightmare of working with the 351C in a 1968 mustang. Rember to check your heads on the engine to see if you see the number 2 or 4 on the cornor of the heads. This will tell you if you got a 2 barrel heads or 4 barrels heads. This does make a difference when ordering parts. The gaskets will not swap. One is bigger than the other (the exhaust holes).

Good Luck.