Front "China wall" sealing issue on SBM

MopaR&D said

You mean the roll pins that go into the block? Yes those are long gone. I'll check again when I get around to taking it apart but IIRC I had to remove those anyway as they were interfering with the intake manifold seating down onto the heads; intake manifold mating faces were milled because it sat too high for the bolts to thread in.

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I have sealed many intake China walls with silicone. Pins and a stock intake (with the holes to accept the pins) and aluminum intakes with no holes (and the pins removed). Dry fit the intake with the gaskets you will be using and check for proper bolt hole fit. You can see the gap on the china walls and whether you need a cork end seal or silicone. A narrow to medium gap can be sealed with silicone. I would say if you have 3/8- 1/2" gap you might want to think about the cork gaskets. I don't like to use them but I don't like sealing inches with a bead of silicone. Clean and dry all surfaces with brake clean and squeeze out a proper sized bead. Less for a narrow gap and more for a bigger gap. (of course) Install the intake and torque it down. Let it sit overnight (at least) before adding coolant or running the engine. This has worked for me many times.