Head gasket question

[VAL]

I'm doing a head gasket job on my vortec 5.7. I ordered the felpro gasket set from rockauto, and they don't have any stamping "this side up". Can anybody tell me which side goes up on these gaskets?

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[chengny]

I have always set Fel-pro head gaskets down on the block with the striped side facing up. No real reason for doing it that way - just seemed right. But your question caught my attention and I started wondering if there was a correct way to orient them. So I looked it up. See below, Fel-pro says there isn't any correct up/down side for the head gaskets used with a SBC.


NON-DIRECTIONAL GASKETS:
In some cases, head gaskets or intake gaskets won’t have any directional indicators on them. They may have Blue Stripe® coating, or be a different color. In these cases, it does not matter which direction the gasket is installed. If it were crucial it would be marked.

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For example, the Small Block Chevy and the GM 3.4L V6 head gaskets (pictured above) can be installed with the Blue Stripe coating facing the cylinder heads or the engine block. There are no directional markings on the gaskets.