8DC Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 (edited) Looking for a headgasket. Stock '76 L28 with an N42 head. Doing a search and reading through old threads it seems that many people have problems with FelPro headgaskets, which are ubiquitous. The brand suggested most often in the older threads is Victor Reinz, which is no longer available (I've checked NAPA, O'Reilly, Advance, Carquest). The only other brand I have come across is Beck/Arnley. Has anyone had experience with their headgaskets? Better than the FelPros or should I just order FelPro and hope that their quality has improved? *EDIT* Nevermind, it appears that the Beck/Arnley that Advance offers is a 2mm gasket, not (correct me if I'm wrong) the stock 1mm thick gasket. I don't want to spend hundreds on a metal gasket, I just want a decent brand that I won't have to worry about. Any suggestions? Edited May 2, 2012 by 8DC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cockerstar Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 Ishino is Nissan OEM, if I remember correctly. Give a search on here for the brand to confirm and get reports on the quality and update us here. A quick google search shows them available for around $40 online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8DC Posted May 2, 2012 Author Share Posted May 2, 2012 (edited) Thanks for the response. The Ishinos that I am coming across in searches are for 77+ cars. What is the difference between the 76 and 77 L28? Can these be used? Also, is Nippon Reinz the same company or related in some way to (possibly a new name for?) Victor Reinz? Edited May 2, 2012 by 8DC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cockerstar Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 No problem! 75-76 and early 77 cars came with the n42 head. 77-78 came with the n47 head. The only difference between these heads are the liners in the exhaust ports for emissions and the valve seats. Neither of which effect the head gasket! Should be able to use a gasket designed for a 77 without any issues on your 76. I haven't ever heard of "Nippon Reinz" or "Victor Reinz", but I am far from being an L-series expert. "Nippon" sounds familiar, but I don't have any info other than recognizing the name. Sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zmanco Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 I've used Felpro on both NA and turbo L28s and have had no issues, save one time when I was having trouble tuning the boost controller and over boosted beyond 20 psi repeatedly with the stock head bolts. Hard to blame Felpro for that, especially since I later found out that my torque wrench reads about 10% high (head bolts were only torqued to ~55 lb-ft). Make sure the head and deck are flat, and then properly clean both, and then properly torque them, and you'll be fine using a Felpro on an NA engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duragg Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 I used a FelPro on my rebuild because when I pulled the old beat-up motor apart the ancient FelPro gasket came off clean. That was a small pleasure. Probably has more to do with Prep that ZManco mentioned above than a lot of other things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyro Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 (edited) No problems with my felpros. Even on turbo or high compression applications. Flat head and a proper job is what counts the most. Edited May 7, 2012 by Pyro Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8DC Posted May 10, 2012 Author Share Posted May 10, 2012 (edited) Gah. I'm having a hard time finding even the FelPros in anyone's system around here, pretty much everywhere says the same thing, that they come from the factory. If I'm going to order them, I may as well do it myself online. Looking at the Ishino set at PartsGeek for a '77... besides the headgasket, how many of the gaskets in a '77 headgasket set can be used on my '76? (n47 versus n42 heads) Edited May 10, 2012 by 8DC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zmanco Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 Both Autozone and O'Reilly carry Felpro. You can order through your local store or online. rockauto.com carries them as well and for me, is often faster than the local stores since they don't stock much for older cars anymore. Rock Auto's lower price coupled with the time and gas saved often makes them cheaper than the chain stores too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SleeperZ Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 I've used Felpro on every L28 I've ever bolted a head to, and never had one fail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyro Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 The important thing is to match the head gasket to the block type. (N42 or F54). In your case a N42, which came with 75 to 80 L28's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8DC Posted May 11, 2012 Author Share Posted May 11, 2012 Thanks, my '77 headgasket will fit my '76 n42 block. How many of the other gaskets in a '77 headgasket set will I be able to use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mack Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 I will just chime in here and say that I have run a fel-pro on my 1980 280ZX with 11.5:1 compression for years and have never had a problem. I have put close to 40,000 on it since the head swap and its fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8DC Posted May 23, 2012 Author Share Posted May 23, 2012 (edited) How many of the other gaskets in a '77 headgasket set will I be able to use on my stock '76 280Z? Needed the set for this weekend and no one seemed able to get me FelPros soon enough, so I went with the '77 Ishino set off of PartsGeek (they offer overnight delivery). Edited May 23, 2012 by 8DC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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