Anyone have any head swap tips?

Drain the block before removing heads. Chase the bolt threads to clean them up. Let threads that's exposed to the coolant dry before use sealant. Consider using head studs.

A couple weekends ago I dropped in some heads and the BBK unequal ceramic shorties as an assembled unit. It worked out very well. You can also easily index the plugs if you want to (do a search on this).

You can dremel out any welding flash in the BBK ports if you want to while they are off.

I really like the ARP black oxide 3/8 header bolts. Used them on a couple builds in the last few months and they flat out rock. Putting a hardware store lock washer behind them is the jam! Retorque them after some drive time and they are good to go. Also the FelPro 1415 header gasket is great.

Careful with the EGR pipe, PBBlast it beforehand along with the header bolts. Careful removing the intake bolts, they have a tendancy to snap. Replace any rusty ones with parts store bolts.

On the dipstick tube, I have a long, thin metal rod (hardware store sells) that I use to get the dipstick seated into the block. Have someone hold a 10mm wrench over the flange of the dipstick and someone on top hammers the rod on the wrench which forces the tube in the block.

Be sure to get some ARP thread sealant or equivalent and put it on the lower bolts/studs you are using.

I like a thick bead of Ultra Black RTV on the front and rear of the intake to block mating surface. Let the RTV get tacky for about 10-15min before you set the intake down. I smear a very thin coat of RTV around the water ports of the intake gasket.

Make sure the water ports on the head gasket are at the back. Head gaskets are marked "front", make sure they go that way.

Be sure to hang onto the head dowels (in the lower corners of the heads when you pull the heads off, they have a tendency to jump out sometimes.

When setting the intake down, use a helper with a couple screwdrivers or a couple studs to guide it squarely down.

Don't bother with changing the oil until you have the heads completely off, seems to get more antifreeze out if you drain the oil/antifreeze mix at the same time. Run the car about a half hour then change the oil again.

A wire wheel on an air tool or drill will help you get the block surfaces surgically clean very quickly. Mask off anywhere you don't want debris to get into (lifter valley) Scrape with a razor first to get most gunk off. Use brake cleaner on all sealing surfaces to remove oil without leaving a residue.

That's all my secrets.

Wes

get some accel shorty header plugs they help when using "p" heads and reg. headers

Check out the link in my signature for H/C/I swap help.