[tubman]

I just got back from my shop where I looked things over some more and did a little measuring. I measured both the Compressed Mercury gaskets I initially removed from the engine and the Fel-Pro I just took out. Both measured .050". I then went through the new gaskets I have on the shelf. Here's what I got :

1 set of Fel-Pro 7521 and 7522 - .060 thick
3 sets of Fel-pro 7525 and 7526 - .072 thick
1 set Victor 1084K and 1085K - .075 thick
1 set Best Gasket 521-1 and 521-2 - .060 thick
I set Speedway "Big Bore" copper gaskets - .075 thick

It looks like the gaskets compress about .015 when torqued, so it looks like none of those I have will help much. Unless some knows of substantially thicker gaskets, it looks like I'm looking at a bunch of hand work.

Gary, I had the Fel-Pro 7525/7526 gaskets in the engine this last time. I did set the heads on the engine without gaskets and turned it over and couldn't see or feel any movement. As to the high compression numbers, I was surprised as well, so I tried a second gauge and got about the same thing. I have 12 volts on my test stand, and it really turns over fast. I will keep your offer on the heads in mind; you're my "Ace in the hole".

Dale, the engine has stock Mercury pistons. You're way ahead of me on this stuff; you have CAD models and CNC capability, while I have a die grinder and a Dremel. Oh well, this was just an exercise to try to get the most out of an old set of heads. One thing; I think this experience has cured me of buying used heads.

And I still have the leak problem.