Stock head gasket capability?
 

Hi - First post. I've search on this and there is a wealth of material on turbocharged cars with "stock" internals and their limits but I have not seen good amounts of data for my specific question:

I wish to know the safe operating boost/hp/tq and expected limits of an unopened, good health 1.8 VCT with a turbo kit. Is the head gasket an instant weak link or does it last up to the rods as long as water temps, det, fueling are all good?

Many thanks

Martin

Rods are the weak link for the most part. 5 speeds usually break first, but 300 crank is rule of thumb for when stock motors start giving up.
if the head gasket is already on its way out boost will likely expedite the process, however.

Thanks - Engine has c.50k miles, uses zero water/oil and had leakage of 6-7% across all bores on a recent leak down test. I also plan to torque/boost limit it at lower/mid RPMs for longevity.

Rods are gonna go before you manage to lift the head (assuming you aren't detonating).

This was what I'd gathered from my research but good to have it confirmed...well, sort of good!

Stock hg is MLS. If you build the internals and use head studs the stock hg will hold whatever you want to throw it's way