Hi Karl,
Feel free to mail me . Regarding the failures I "used" to experience, the head was always prepped correctly (something Harvey is meticulous over, as he knows that most repairs fail almost instantly if this isn't done correctly).

However, in my favour I did always catch the failures before they became severe, as I know what to look out for on the Cossies, so I would be able to spot the failure when the hydrocarbons were only just becoming detectable in the coolant. This also had the benefit of meaning that the head required very little machining to get it perfectly flat.

I always just assumed that it was caused by the head lifting from the 34psi peak / 26psi that I was running at the time. However, after having four head gasket repairs (at £250 a time) over a number of years, I finally bit the bullet and on the fifth time had the engine long-studded (which coincided with a rebuild / upgrade). Since having the WRC gasket and this method of clamping fitted, I have NEVER had a gasket failure in over 45k of driving . Whereas before I was getting them at least every 8-12k.

Given that the last cars have been abused even more than the 385bhp engine, I am pleased with my experiences of long-studding. However, that doesn't mean I am not open minded, and I agree that ARP studs in a Cossie block are the worst mod EVER .