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I bought a bottoming tap set with my ARP studs kit.
I wounder if there was junk in the holes and the bolts bottomed out before the head got tight?
With everything seen so far is why I say run the tap down and then blow them out.
Dave ----
I am giving serious thought to putting the intake and exhaust manifolds on the head before it goes on. I reckon it will definitely make getting the head in place harder but I figure that is an extra 10 minutes worth of work versus the tedious pain of doing the '88 exhaust manifolds on the '81 head again. I spent half a day on that intake/exhaust alone last time getting everything right and straight with no alignment holes for the exhaust on an '81 head. Took 3 tries!
It seems smart to do that on the bench since I can.
On the other hand, I can't tell you how many times that something I thought was smart ended up biting me in the butt though!
What do you guys think?
Last edited by Nerdyredneck; Jan 16, 2026 at 10:29 AM.
I dont see any problem with installing the manifold on the head and then dropping it on the block.
A lot of times when the manifolds are bolted together like the factory guys pull the head with them still bolted to it.
So I dont see why you cant other than the extra weight.
Now if you are using the factory Y pipe you could loosely put the manifolds on each pipe so they get held up some by the Y pipe.
Last time I pulled the manifolds to replace the gasket I left the exhaust manifolds bolted to the Y pipe and it made the job a lot easier.
Dave ----
Last time I pulled the manifolds to replace the gasket I left the exhaust manifolds bolted to the Y pipe and it made the job a lot easier.
Dave ----
I am going to remember that next time- I hope I have to remember that for a while though! I have more improvements I want to spend time on instead of just keeping it running!
Last edited by Nerdyredneck; Jan 16, 2026 at 02:31 PM.
I wounder if there was junk in the holes and the bolts bottomed out before the head got tight?
With everything seen so far is why I say run the tap down and then blow them out.
Dave ----
You did not run that engine long enough to do that much damage to it. It takes awhile to erode that cast iron away.
You did not run that engine long enough to do that much damage to it. It takes awhile to erode that cast iron away.
I take the machinist's word that some work was done to it. On the other hand, I take your word for it that the .005 dip in the head happened with too few miles.
I personally think that while some work was done to the head it was not decked on 'rebuild' and that erosion was there like you said! I have no idea how long that erosion takes but one thing that sticks in my mind is on tear down the block mating surface was clean and shiny- looked brand new - while the head mating surface was dark - not freshly machined!
Last edited by Nerdyredneck; Jan 16, 2026 at 02:43 PM.
You did not run that engine long enough to do that much damage to it. It takes awhile to erode that cast iron away.
I am thinking with the shotty work to the head if when rebuilding the block they did not make sure the head bolt holes were clean from maybe shot peen?
I also cant see cast iron erosion as a cause.
Dave ----
OH MAN! That was soooo much easier to assemble on the tailgate/work bench! The last time as Fuzzface noted you need 5 hands to hold those exhaust manifolds in place yet there is only room for two. Since you can't see it under there real well I lost sleep over whether the exhaust hole in the head and manifold were lined up properly! Without the alignment pins in the '81 head, it was a crap shoot! Not only was it much easier but I am very confident I got the exhaust ports lined up near perfectly this time.
We will see tomorrow how much harder it is to get the head in assembled but regardless I will sleep better knowing the ports are lined up!
I determined that if I centered all the ears on all the studs all the ports lined up perfectly. I can't get a shot showing multiple studs but just make them all look like this!
Oh yeah, I got everything repainted too, as long as it was out and I was waiting for the head to come back! Nice and shiny!
Last edited by Nerdyredneck; Jan 19, 2026 at 07:51 PM.
I was replacing the gasket because it was too low and when it sneezed (little backfire up the carb) it blew the intake gasket out
Then when replacing that gasket, it slipped down when putting it together and caused a vacuum leak.
Dave ----
Huh! I was so in the zone today I forgot to take any pics! All I have is two end of day shots. I was a total clean freak though. Every hole bottom tapped, brake cleaner and compressed air.
The ARP stud kit was interesting. (at least to me) You use the very fine grease included in the kit on both ends of every stud and on both sides of the flat washers! No false torque due to friction by garsh! A nice allen key hole on the top of the stud to get it hand tight and hopefully, should the day ever come, to get them out!
It was a long day for my elderly butt! I had a young, strong nephew come and help me physically set the head in place. Otherwise, I would have needed a motor hoist! That fully assembled head has some heft.
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