I don't know. They were all SCCA guys. Few years ago they were a fun class to watch. Sort of a Triple-A farm team for Nascar with all the paint trading. Still, they did improve my opinion of them. Same thing happened with the Honda (I hate Hondas) CRX. Little guys got out there, ran all day and did well. I figured they'd explode or something ten laps in. Might actually want to find an SCCA chapter near by and track down some of the guys that race with those motors. I suspect you are right that they use something better than the stock gasket. Iif anybody knows how to keep those motors together, they will.