[Colt Hero]

Well, after reading about the FelPro gaskets and realizing these are the latest and greatest design from FelPro, I feel a lot better about them now. It turns out there are different versions of FelPro gaskets still floating around parts stores. I bought my set at AutoZone earlier this year, but I stopped by an Advance parts store recently and discovered that, while they also sell the kit I bought (MS98003T), they sell the intake gaskets separately too. However, this set is a totally different gasket design: no metal, just very cheap and flimsy black plastic like the OEM gaskets, and more importantly - the sealing surface doesn't look as thick as the surface on the kit gaskets.

SO - I would say if you are going to use the FelPro gaskets, use the ones with the metal frames found in the MS98003T (PermaDryPlus) kit. These are FelPro's latest design. For the Impala, they only hit the market last year (the first version was sold in 2004)! You can also read about them on the Web - the chemical composition, and how FelPro stressed tested them with no failures. To me, they really DO appear to be the better gasket design.

If anybody out there has a compelling argument to the contrary, I'd love to hear it.