Buy new gaskets, clean the holes properly.

Sealant won't seal on a surface covered with anti-seize. You will most likely have a coolant leak otherwise

 

I have to agree with Scott as the antisieze will migrate especially under pressure with hot water (coolant)
Best to disassemble and clean threads , then re apply the sealer

 

Scott has the right approach. It's better to do it right now and not later after you've assembled everything else and tried to run the engine. Reminds me of when I forgot to put the catalyst in my primer and sprayed my whole hotrod. Had to sand it all off and start over. Ugh!!! I feel your pain.

 

Sounds like a receipt for a down stream maintenance or worse mess. Save yourself a lot of trouble, expense and difficulty and fix it correctly now.

We’ve all done these kind of mistakes in one form or another often more than oncem experience and that often miserable and expensive experience says fix it now.

Bogie

 

I hate to come out with another $100 for head gaskets but I guess I'll have to bite the bullet. I can't blame it all on lack of experience but I would have looked at it and known that it wasn't the right stuff if I had done it before. It was just a boneheaded move by me for buying the wrong stuff and not double checking that it was what I thought I bought. Live and learn.

Thanks again guys.

 

Hey, when I put my super dooper 700R4 in several years ago I forgot to stake the front seal. I realized my error after it was bolted up. I decided to take my chances rather than pull it back out while the job was still set up. Now I have a leaking front seal and either need to crank up my 85 year old body to pull the trans myself or take it a shop and spend 300 dollars to have a 15 dollar part replaced.

Bogie

 

Even with the heads off , how are you planning on cleaning out the bolt holes in the block . I'd be looking to a bottle brush the correct size & few cans of broke clean, I'd think you could get the holes clean with the heads in place , your call ..

 

I've already ordered the head gaskets, so I guess the heads are coming off. I was planning on buying a bottle brush and I also thought about a gun barrel cleaning brush which I have some but they might not be the right size.

 

A solvent dipped brush whether a bottle or gun brush large enough to screw into the threads not just slide over the inside edges of the threads. This will put some gunk in the cooing jackets that’s a nit.

Bogie

 

Just FYI, I've been using these Summit Racing head gaskets on my 383 with Profiler 210 aluminum heads, and they seem to be working great. They're only $13.49 each.
Summit Racing SUM-G2630 Summit Racing™ Head Gaskets | Summit Racing

You can always get second opinions...

 

Thicker than I’d be looking for unless the block is decked or using raised crown pistons.

Bogie

 

Thicker than I’d be looking for unless the block is decked or using raised crown pistons.

I don't see any mention of thin head gaskets, just "Fel-Pro that are recommended to use with AFR heads"...
Are his $100 head gaskets thinner?

 

Is water leaking past the bolts? If so just put a little stop leak in the radiator.

No need to pull the heads. I had a few bolts leak on a 355 years ago. I drained water out and resealed the bolt(s) that leaked. Ran it again and another bolt or two would leak. Did this a few times and then my engine builder had me put stop leak in. Fixed it. Ran that engine for years and ran bottom 10's and drove it all over on the street.

 

At $11.78 you should've bought a dozen... well, at least a half dozen.
I guess when someone doesn't mention what their engine is, I default to SBC...

 

I would've bought more but I probably won't ever build another engine for myself. Maybe one for my grandson but I don't know what it'll be.

I guess I should always say what my engine is since almost all builds on here are SBC.

 

So this is Ford Windsor block!? Surprise, suuprise, soooprise, Sarg!!!

These are not like a Chevy SBC where all of its head outs penetrate into the cooling jackets. The 221-302 block is a mixed bag. The earlier blocks including the 302 are not drilled into the coolant passages. The later blocks only drilled the short bolt holes into cooling passages. If my ancient memory serves Ford started opening the short bolt holes into the cooling jackets in late 1980’s.

This is something to check when building these engines.



Bogie

 

This one is a 1986 casting but I didn't check any date codes to get the actual cast date. It does have the bottom bolt holes that goes into the cooling passages. The 1986 casting is ready for roller cam parts. Well, this one was almost ready. It had holes where the dog bone retainer bolts up but to my surprise when I went to bolt it up there were no threads in the holes. I was nervous about tapping the holes since the cam bearing is at the bottom of it but everything turned out ok. Ford made the 302 with and without the roller cam for several years so this is something to be on the lookout for if building one.

 

If the engine hasn’t been run your existing head gasket is probably fine to reuse.

The late 80’s were a weird time as the OEM’s were gearing up for roller cams. These engines require some study befor jumping in so as you have some idea of tge changes that might or not be in there and to what extent they are or are not finished.

I didn’t realize till we were quite a ways in that you’re working on a Windsor and not an SBC, 347 was the trip line on that.

Bogie