Quote:
Originally Posted by marko39
i tested my 51 block with the heads and water pumps and found air leakage around the gaskets at 20 psi. i replaced the pump gaskets with thick rubber and copper coated the head gaskets and got it to hold pressure for 2 hours which i considered a success. i was spraying soapy water everywhere and the only bubbles were around the gaskets. air will leak easier than water.
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I had the same problem with the setup I made. The water pump block-off was 1/4" aluminum and would leak with the regular gaskets. I made special gaskets from thick rubber which solved the problem. I see no reason for special head block-off plates when there are a lot of extra heads around. My setup is for an 8BA type engine. The plate with the gauge bolts on in place of the thermostat housing; it also has a Schrader valve. The vinyl cap can be used to block off the water pump outlets and allows testing without removing the water pumps (which allows testing in the car). Bad water pump seals complicate the process, but usually it works. I would imagine something similar could be cobbled up for the earlier engines using some radiator hose and the proper sized tubing.