PS
1/4 inch drive 9/16 deep well, add 3/8 to 1/4 drive adapter and a 10 inch swivel/flex ratchet.........

 

The problem you may experience with the Allen bolts are turning them in the hard to reach areas.
Thats why the 12 points are used, so one can turn them a little at a time, especially when re-torquing once the engine is all together getting behind the carburetor and the one on the left {rear head}

 

"FxLowrider"

Thanks for that info and link on the Torque Adaptor, 9/16", 12-Point, it looks like a winner !!

Attached:

Swivel headtorque see if you can beg, borrow or steal (give it back this really takes the hard work out of it, it belongs to my best friend the one in the picture, been a GM wrench for a long time.

cj





[IMG]local://upfiles/16813/75F61FF5012B4A59ADC1E40089BB59F1.jpg[/IMG]

 

Here's a link for torque wrenches, they are snap on, but sold for a cheaper price. I think they are reman'd......

https://www.emaxaction.com/index.asp...stom&ID=25

 

I've read all the post on this subject, I have one question, and dont want to get flamed.......but why would you spend hard earned money on a motor, then not even know what torque your setting your head bolts at? To me your just asking for more top end problems in the near future.....Am I not getting a joke or are a couple of you serious? Just curious......

Thanks,

 

FxLowrider,
Years ago, I was told by one of the best Harley machinist/mechanics I have ever known that if ya can't get a torque wrench on the head bolts for a Shovelhead, pull 'em up to "blue torque." "Blue torque" as many of you know is achieved by pulling on the wrench until you are blue in the face. His lesson really was that you get the bolts as evenly torqued as possible at a good tight tension. Now there are some big boys out there that are gonna rip the inserts right out of the heads pulling on a wrench as hard as they can so it ain't a good idea to tell them that. It is a learned skill and it can have disasterous results until you "get it."
The fact is, most torque wrenches won't fit to get directly on the bolt heads so guys have had to improvise...

 

After looking closely at your gaskets, could the head bolt holes {in the gasket} not line up perfectly with the holes {in the head}?
I have tried to use some poorly made gaskets in the past where the alignment was so far off they couldn't be used.
IF the gasket material bunches up from miss alignment this will not allow the head to mate completely flat with the barrel allowing gases to leak past causing the gasket to fail.
Using any gasket made any more I will compare and blue print each gasket for fit.
Yes use a torque wrench when ever possible but as megawatt says its not always doable and one must be careful when adding any extensions, adapters or even not being completely square on the bolt will give you a false reading and may cause more problems. The threads also need to be lubricated for an accurate reading.
Torque wrenches also need to be taken care of and re calibrated any time your in doubt of the readings.
Theirs a lot to take in to consideration when tightening a bolt:
[quote]"Don’t go by what is in the ‘book’ (repair manuals) for clamping," Brown explains. "Who knows where those torque specs came from?" If you’re using specialty fasteners that have much higher strength than OE fasteners, then these torque specs will have no relevance. "These specs could have been lifted from an OEM bulletin somewhere," warns Brown. "And you’ll find out pretty quickly then, if you snap a bolt or stud, that it was wrong." Most specialty bolt manufacturers provide detailed instructions with their kits explaining how to install, and torque their bolts, as well as what type of lubrication to use. Some even include charts showing how much clamping load to use. Very few engine builders know how much clamping load they need, says Brown. In many cases, they’ll measure the clamp load by using torque values, and this, in turn, creates some confusion. “Say you torque a 3/16˝ bolt; you can torque it to 100 ft.lbs. if you don’t put any lubricant on it because it generates so much friction. But, if you put a dab of moly lube on the threads and under the head, you may only be able to torque it to 30 ft.lbs.," Brown explains. Some of the confusion surrounding torque and preload comes from not knowing the difference between them. Torque is just the twisting force. It’s an index number and does not equal load. You also have to compensate for the friction coefficient of the oil. Therefore, torque values should be accompanied by the specified lubricant for the most consistent results. Carroll Smith agrees that friction plays a vital role in achieving proper stretch and clamp load. And if you use a different lubricant than the one provided by the bolt manufacturer, Smith says, "good luck." It’s critical to use the correct lube because it was designed for the specific bolt and application in many cases, especially in high performance applications. Many high performance bolt manufacturers include the lube with the bolt kit when you buy them. "Obviously, the more slippery the lube is, for the same amount of torque you’ll stretch the bolt further, and vice versa," says Smith. "Proper lubrication of head bolts doesn’t really matter as much in a vintage 289 Ford – but if you’re assembling a true high performance engine, you’ve got some real pressure inside of those cylinders. "If you’re running a 13:1 compression engine at 9,000 rpms, you’re trying to lift those heads right out of there. If you’re running a 9:1 engine at 4,000 rpms, you can practica

 

Thanks Megawatt for clearing that up, makes all the sence in the world....