[blykins]

I don't know what you're referring to with the head gasket. As long as the head wasn't rising up off the deck, there's no reason to check out how much torque would compress the gasket. You're talking about probably less than .010-.015" between install thickness and compressed thickness. The only concern here is that if the bolts were loose, the head was way off the block when the pushrod was going up. But there again, he was using checking springs, so it wouldn't have raised the head off the deck anyway. You just want the head to be sitting down flush where it should be. Once it contacts the metal and the fasteners are tight, there's no use in torquing them down to the correct torque until final assembly.

I never check piston/valve clearance with the head gaskets on anyway. There's no use in it.

If you're thinking that if he had torqued the heads down to the torque spec that it would have changed something....but if he was measuring .200" clearance, a few more wouldn't have been noticeable to him. Also, if torquing the heads down brought the piston/valve clearance out of spec, then you were way too close to begin with. See what I'm saying?

As for the pistons, these were for a 9.500" deck....I don't think the Probes will work for your deck height, but you can check. It would be a cheap alternative for you.