1964-1966 Buick Wildcat Riviera Electra 425 Nos Head Gasket Set 1396602 on 2040-parts.com

Product Description

These fit 1964 - 1966 Buick Gran Sport, LeSabre, Wildcat, Electra, Estate Wagon and Riviera with 425 V8 engine (NOT the 401 - diameter of the 425 cylinder bore is slightly larger than the bore diameter of the 401).

This set is listed in the parts books for 425 V8 with single carburetor only, since the valve cover gaskets have the locator tabs on them that were used for the standard stamped steel valve covers, while the cast aluminum valve covers normally found with the dual-quad setups use the same size gaskets, but those gaskets have no locator tabs on them.

These are a composite head gasket, not the thin stamped steel ones.

Buick originally used part number 1358651 for the 425 head gaskets, and they were the thin, stamped steel type, at about .015" thickness. In October 1964, GM changed the part number of the 425 head gaskets to 1371377, and I believe it was only due to the type of coating on them, as the stamping is identical between 1358651 and 1371377. Finally, in October 1967, GM again changed the head gasket part number to 1377869, which is this composite gasket you see here. The part number is stamped into the gaskets.

Back in the day, GM originally had composite head gaskets consisting of a piece of asbestos, encapsulated between two thin steel stampings, and most of the Buick ones I've seen are listed as .045" thick. This is not quite the same type of composite, having metal compression rings around the bores. I measured the thickness of the metal rings and come up with about .043". I'm not sure how much these compress, so can't say how it will affect displacement/compression, but I'm sure GM had a reason for replacing thin .015" stamped gaskets with this type of composite gasket.

As shown in the picture, these gaskets have the GM part number stamped right on them. While it is true that the bulk of GM's OEM gaskets were manufactured by the major aftermarket manufacturers (McCord, Victor, Fel-Pro or Fitzgerald), and their numbers can be found on some gaskets, the only gaskets with the GM part numbers stamped into them are the ones that were stocked by and ordered from GM. If these were just aftermarket gaskets, they would not have the GM number on them. So, you can be sure the dealership these came from ordered them from GM Parts Division, they didn't call their local parts store to get them. Not to mention that they are still in the original GM packaging.

These are brand new and never installed.
1964 1965 1966