Oil Pan Gasket Dilemma

[ursus]

I just laid some probably 40 year old cork oil pan gaskets on a "B" block and was surprised to see them about one inch short overall, likely due to shrinkage. I recall some advice to soak such dried and shrunken cork gaskets in water to rehydrate them back to spec. Is this advisable or should I toss them?

My previous exercise in replacing an oil pan involved paper gaskets that required enlarging some of the bolt holes because they were punched in the wrong places. Can anybody recommend a properly sized brand of pan gaskets? Thanks much!