2000 302 5.0L Exhaust Gasket question

[TestPoint]

My '00 Mountaineer 302 now resides in an '82 Volvo but other than some sheet metal differences it is completely stock with only 13k miles on the engine and transmission . . . except for the Ford Racing headers. The original cast iron manifolds would not work with the swap and with the GT40P heads and slanted plugs the best solution was the above headers with a EGR bung welded on.

Now have nearly 2,000 miles on the swap and the right side has been showing signs of an exhaust gasket failure. Went to pick up a set of FelPro gaskets this afternoon and upon reaching home now believe that both sides need replacing.

The FelPro gaskets look just like the ones that came with the Ford Racing headers that failed pretty quickly. Should I get some exotic magic gaskets that are the answer to a maiden's prayer and cost 5-6 times as much or torque the FelPro ones down tight?

Because of anticipation of gasket problems I used anti-seize on the bolt threads. The bolts seem tight so they haven't backed out.

Should I put them in dry? Should I spent $50 on magic gaskets?

 

[Anime]

Blown header gaskets are nothing new, it just happens.

Some guys swear by the OE/aftermarket metal type and don't use anything else ever, so you should probably try the FelPros before spending the money on fancy gaskets.

Higher end stuff does work better, graphite reinforced and the like do seem to seal like nobody's business compared to the less expensive metal type, so I'd say go that route if the FelPros don't last.

I'd say take it easy with the anti-seize. You really only need a tiny tiny amount of the stuff on the threads to get the required surface film on the bolt and head thread surfaces. If there's already anti-seize in the threaded head holes, you can probably put the bolts in perfectly clean this time and whatever anti-seize remained will be sufficient. Either that or just put the tiniest bit on the first few threads and that will coat the head and bolt threads as it goes in.