Still plugging away on the motorhomes 454. I assembled the heads by lubing the valve stems and installing with the original springs, retainers and keepers, but with new umbrella seals. I invested in a good valve spring compressor which saves a lot of time and frustration. Heads are bolted on with new Allstar head bolts and Felpro gaskets to a torque of 80lb/ft in three increments using the sequence in the manual. New bolts were only $30 and come with thread sealer already applied. On went the oil pump, new timing chain set, timing cover, oil pan with new Felpro gasket and a filter. Freeze plugs are new brass items, balancer was pressed back on and top dead center verified on the timing pointer using a piston stop.
I couldn't resist mocking up the motor with the rest of the parts before calling it a night. Headman headers for a P30 chassis, Edelbrock dual plane intake, a used 600 cfm Edelbrock carb and chrome air cleaner. Everything has been washed or bead blasted then painted. Looks too good to go back into the motorhome but at least it will be clean to work on!
