Technical What's a good flathead head gasket???

So I got my Model A near completion but I have a few bugs to work out. Biggest one is the heads won't seal up they weep coolant between the head and the block. I've replaced the gaskets 3 times so far every time with Felpro gaskets. After I run the car and it builds up pressure (7 lb cap) it'll get a few drips of coolant that'll appear on the bottom rear corner of the head and a couple spots on the bottom edge of the head above the headers. It might only leak out maybe a tea spoon of coolant then if the car sits for a few days it stops. I put my cooling system pressure tester on it it dropped 1-2# after 24 hours. I've retorqued (45 foot pounds) the heads several times and the nuts aren't moving anymore. The heads are new Navarro 8ba's, with new head studs. I ran a file and a straight edge over the deck of the block I couldn't see anything out of the ordinary and there's no cracks in the block either. So my question is is there a better gasket out there I should try next? Will copper gaskets seal better than the Felpro style?

 

Copperclad are better than Felpro but Felpro are good. I wouldn't buy a set of copperclad if you have tried Felpro three times.
You have another problem. I would guess your mating surfaces aren't flat. Check both the head and the block mating surfaces with a good straight edge and a feeler gauge.

 

The leak may be from one or more of the studs, and not caused by the gasket. Were the studs sealed good?

 

Yes, I covered the threads with thread sealant. It doesn't seem to be coming from the studs tho.

 

Would it be wise to torque the heads to say 55 # to see if that helps, or is that too much with aluminum heads?

 

My Edelbrock cylinder head instructions say initially torque in steps to 20-40- 55 LBS re-torque after each of three heat cool down cycles. May be different for yours.

 

We had new Navarro heads on a 50 merc motor the motor was rebuilt by a local shop experienced in flatheads. The leak persisted along the lower edges of the heads even after switching from new Edelbrock to Navarro. They assured me they had surfaced the block, to cut a long story short we had issues with a cam adapter they also had made which caused us to completely strip the motor as it had fillings through it. The block was sent to a different shop and found to not have been surfaced. Now have done 7000 Mls in 3 yrs with no leaks.
Make sure surfaces are flat, and all studs well sealed.