Will a Pontiac 350 head gasket work on a 389?

Answer 1

Maybe, it depents on the brand of gasket you are using, Victor Reinz makes a 350 specific gasket, most others brands are actually the larger bore (about 4.20-4.30) 389-455 gaskets. Measure the cylinder opening on the gasket. The 389 has a 4.060 bore the 350 is only 3.88. Make sure the gasket opening is at least 4.060 so it does not hang into the bore of the 389. If it does it will fail VERY quickly. The easiest way is to just set the gasket on the 389 block and see if it is the same or slightly larger than the 389's bores. Otherwise the gaskets are the same. The Felpro 1016 is a very good gasket for Pontiac 389-455 up to about 12.5:1 compression. after that Cometics are a good idea.