[johnnym]

Hi all,

As some of you will know we're developing a new head gasket for the 2600 and I wanted to test opinion on what we will stock. The three options are:

1. Bespoke made, high quality composite, created by one of the largest HG manufacturers in the UK with best modern materials. Currently being developed against NOS gaskets and various heads & blocks. Price about £150.

2. Fibre gasket, as original materials, approx price £60.

3. Copper gasket, approx price £80.

The last one is very good if you need to remove the head, and (fitted properly) they are really hard to blow, although this isn't always a good thing (it means other components may get damaged before the gasket) and they also need good mating surfaces.

I have added a photo of #3, and a sample of #2 is on its way.

So, given that we will certainly be stocking #1, would there be a demand for #2 or #3?

Best regards,

John
alfaretro.com

 

[tubut]

John, as you probably know there are head gaskets available in Germany that are made by Reinz and Elring. How are the gaskets you plan to have made different or superior to what's already on the market?

FWIW, the original 2-piece gaskets had a reputation for failing, which, rumor has it, led to replacements with modern materials in the 1970s or 1980s. This might indicate that the material for #2 has inherent limitations, or perceived limitations, and therefore limited market acceptance even if they are better than original. If your copper gasket #3 is good enough and better than original, why is #1 needed?

 

[johnnym]

Hi Ruedi,

The #1 we are having developed will be about 2/3 of the cost of the ones currently available from Elring and equivalent or better specifications, which makes them good for me.

#2 is significantly cheaper, and they work; this thread was started to assess whether people would want to buy them.

#3 as explained, needs good mating surfaces and not blowing is not always a good thing (a gasket is designed to be the weakest part of the chain for a good reason). They are probably more suitable for racing applications, or maybe if someone is doing an endurance event and wants the ability to lift and replace a head. Again, the idea is to see if people would be interested in buying them.

Basically, all of this costs money to arrange. The product line is growing quite considerably, but I need to prioritise my spending and I feel the best way is to ask the people who own the cars.

Anyway, samples of all will be tested.

 

[tubut]

The #1 we are having developed will be about 2/3 of the cost of the ones currently available from Elring and equivalent or better specifications, which makes them good for me.

John, OKP lists the Elring head gasket at EUR 169.00 including VAT on their web site. According to the first post in this thread, you expect gasket #1 that the price is "about £150" -- so, unless I'm mistaken, prices seem to be about the same (if your price includes VAT also).

Head gaskets for 4-cyl Alfas seem to cost EUR 30.00 to 40.00. I can only imagine that the price differential (106 head gaskets costing 4-5 times as much as 101 or 105 gaskets) has to do with economies of scale (larger quantities for 101 or 105 gaskets). So, a good quality head gasket (presumably like your #2) that closes this gap would certainly be appreciated.

On the other hand, if bringing the price down is a matter of quantity, please let us know what quantities you would need to order for each of the three options to cut the price in half (i.e. we would get 2 gaskets instead of 1 for the same amount of money spent) and maybe we can get a group by together and can help you make things happen.

 

[johnnym]

Sorry Ruedi, my mistake. £150 was the original price; I have managed to get that down lower. The other advantages are that I have an extremely high quality company working on making the gasket as good as it can be.

I'm getting samples of everything, and will keep everyone posted.