engine gaskets

[mterrens]

I see that there is an engine gasket set on sale on eBay...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... X-XXX-XXXX
I have heard that buying NOS rubber parts can be a problem as they may have become brittle with age.  Could this be an issue here?
Is there an alternative to buying a set like this?  Is there a product that can effectively take the place of an engine gasket altogether?  Or, is it possible to cut your own gaskets out of a blank sheet of gasket material, given the correct template?  How close are the tolerances for the shape of the thing?  If this is possible, does a template exist?  It seems one could be made by laying a real gasket on a copier, then marking the copy up with the correct dimensions for the user to doublecheck.
Steve

[Nick]

I made myown gaskets out of gasket paper and they worked just fine.. when the engine was taken apart the old gasket tore apart and no way a copy could be made.
So I clean the parts and useed a white piece of paper and did the old coin rubbing trick and ended up with a good patern to work from... The head gasket .. I got a company to make a new one, with coper linnings, cost me NZ$60.00
Much cheaper than you would pay for that set on ebay.. that one is working out to be about NZ$240.00  and the paper cost me 10 dollars. Depends on what you want I guess.
Regards
Quentin
Here in little ole New Zealand

> ----- Original Message -----
> From:
> Steven
> Michelsen
> To:
> Honda600
> Sent:
> Tuesday, March 04, 2003 6:01
> AM
> Subject:
> [2cylinderhondas] engine
> gaskets
> I see that there is an engine gasket set on
> sale on eBay...
> http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... X-XXX-XXXX
> I have heard that buying NOS rubber parts can be
> a problem as they may have become brittle with age.  Could this be an > issue here?
> Is there an alternative to buying a set like
> this?  Is there a product that can effectively take the place of an > engine gasket altogether?  Or, is it possible to cut your own gaskets out > of a blank sheet of gasket material, given the correct template?  How > close are the tolerances for the shape of the thing?  If this is > possible, does a template exist?  It seems one could be made by laying a > real gasket on a copier, then marking the copy up with the correct dimensions > for the user to doublecheck.
> Steve
> To
> unsubscribe from this group, send an email
> to:
> 2cylinderhondas-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
> Your
> use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the
> Yahoo! Terms of Service
> .

[turbotwo]

You may find if you use plain brown fiberous gasket paper it will
fail within a few months. Oil absorbs into the paper and the heat is
too high for plain paper even if you coat it with something.
I am using some carbon-fibre material rated at 900 degrees F. It is
black in color and is expensive, my cost was $5.00/sq.ft. I had to
buy a 5 foot square sheet. I sold some of this material to Mike O,
maybe he can give us his opinion on it's properties. I have only used
it on a couple engines and found it to be excellent.
Bill Colford has repro head gaskets made to similar specs as the OEM
Honda ones.
Miles