VettePaul

Hi there. I'm in the middle of rebuilding my block. I've just had the block decked and when I came to install the first head I realised that the machine shop hasn't replaced the locating dowel pin. I lined it up with a couple of bolts. Is this satisfactory or will oil or water come up thru the hole where the pins were ? :confused:

tsw71

It may be all right, but why take the chance? The bolts may line the heads up fairly close, but this may cause other problems with sealing the intake if the head is not sitting quite right. Also, these dowels are the only thing that hold the gasket in the correct place durring assembly. The clearance holes in the gasket for the bolts may not locate it nearly close enough for proper sealing. Since you've gone to all of the trouble of rebuilding the motor the right way, don't stop now by doing something that may cause problems later down the road.

Tom

78Vette-SA

You may know this already but just in case. Make sure you use Permatex 2 or Teflon sealer on the head bolts when installing to prevent leaks. And run a tap down the bolt holes to clean them up and make sure the holes are dry when you torque the head bolts down.

UKPaul

Hi Paul,
I'd definately fit the dowels back in place b4 bolting down the heads. I assume that the machine shop lost them? What you need is somebody with a small lathe to knock some up for you ;)