Charley -

You were correct on the girdle threads. I was only cutting carbon with the 7mmx1.0 tap. The better light of day allowed these old eyes to see that the thread size is 8mmx1.25..... they were really, really coked up.

Much of today was spent disassembling and cleaning the heads, looking for lost valve train springs <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />, installing the heads (on an old gasket set) and water pump... and setting up for cam readings..... maybe tomorrow.

Frank