Hi, I am in the process of putting V6 elite engine back together after head gasket leak. I took the faulty gasket to my local independant garage to ask if they reckoned it was the cause of the huge leak. They said yes, but don't even think about putting it back together without skimming the heads first, otherwise it would just blow again in a few month's time. I went to a local machine shop and asked them why should the heads be skimmed if they weren't warped. The guy said modern gaskets need a really 'good' surface. What about wet and dry paper wrapped round a straight block? Second question, I have seen gasket sets on Ebay for well under half the price of VX parts. I know you guys always go on about the merits of buying only genuine GM products, but my car is 15 years old and as I don't expect to keep it for more than 6000 more miles, surely the pattern parts would hold up for that length of time?

You will get in all sorts of trouble if you DO skim them. Only skim V6 heads if absolutely required.

Pattern HGs are OK, but you MUST use genuine GM cam cover gaskets