440 intake

[mopower04]

so this may be a stupid question, but on the big blocks with the vally pan gaskets, i notice there are also regular gaskets to go with them...how important are they and how do you know the thickness you need? i had just the metal vally pan and used black silicon around the intake ports to the heads and it seemed to work just peachie!

[DartGT66]

You don't have to use the paper gaskets except in special cases.

[cudabob496]

you can use the paper ones in addition to the metal one, if you are having trouble getting a good seal, ie you're sucking air or oil into the intake valves.
I use both due to machine work done on my heads and intake. Before using them, line up your intake and heads without the gaskets, and check for gaps in different areas. that might tell you if you need more than the metal gasket.