47-55.1 Head Gasket Material?

[Dachshund]

Copper or fiber? 1953 235 pretty much stock.

[mr48chev]

Unless you are building it to race and are seriously concerned about the compression ratio I'd say Felpro blue or equivalent.

I have used steel shim or copper gaskets in the past but you want the head and deck to be perfectly true and you have to use something for a sealant on the gasket. Lots of choices in that dept depending on who you talk to also.
On the other hand I have never had head gasket issues while using a high quality fiber gasket like the blue FelPro ones. They are a bit more forgiving if you head isn't exactly perfectly true and seal well.