Muscletang engine shows a smooshed spark plug!

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I have a question about the gasket for you experts.

My question is in regards to the water passages through the gasket. There are two passages at the front and rear corners of the valley side. I understand that the front one is open and the rear one is closed. However, there are two other passages near the middle front and rear as indicated in the picture. However, the gasket had one of these passages closed. Is this normal?

Picture showing block and passages in question:

20211123_180401m.jpg

Sorry, not the best picture of the gasket, but it has one of those middle passages close and the other open:

20211123_174137m.jpg

 

Hemikiller

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The head gasket controls the flow of water. The square opening in the front leads to the cast-in crossover in the block and the thermostat/water outlet. Opening in the rear of the headgasket allows the water into the heads after it passes through the block. If the front passage was open, the water would skip the rest of the block and go right to the thermostat, causing an overheat condition. 

 
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Joined
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Messages
4,214
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1,257
Location
Madison, WI
My Car
1971 Mach 1 w/408C stroker
The head gasket controls the flow of water. The square opening in the front leads to the cast-in crossover in the block and the thermostat/water outlet. Opening in the rear of the headgasket allows the water into the heads after it passes through the block. If the front passage was open, the water would skip the rest of the block and go right to the thermostat, causing an overheat condition. 
Thank you. That makes sense.

 
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