I haven't had any problems with mine overheating and its 60 over. i did have to put extra permatex on the water ports though. my heads are shaved and it dont seal off so well
you dont need no special gasket. you will not have a overheating problem it was the way the intakes were designed. order your gaskets for a 289/302 pre 1974 9.99 at auto zone for felpro.
You don't HAVE to block off the exhaust port. But you might WANT to block the hot air that will heat the fuel mixture. The cooler the fuel mixture...the more horsepower. Hot air expands so it will have less oxygen in a given space. Cold air contracts so it has more oxygen per volume.
Me too, but not much. I pmed you about plugs in the gaskets, but the ones I was talking about were the triangle shaped ones for the center exhaust port. I didn't want the aluminum to get any more etched from contact with that water, so I smeared a thin layer of rtv on the exposed area. I guess you could then apply a cutout from any gasket material, but it could always have the chance of popping off and clogging something later on.
