I went ahead and did the 2 gaskets and it barely cleared. IF it blows out (it might) I will likely get a mini-starter due to the mods my engine has I wasn't thinking about.
I was wrapped up on trying to get it finished and didn't dwell on the why, as it was there before me to assemble. So this morning I was thinking about it.
It dawned on me that when I had the heads off my deck clearance was -.005" on the affected side (zero on the other side).
It's .060" oversized so they are aftermarket pistons with a 1.7" compression height spec. Accepted stock deck height is 10.240".
1.7" + 6.625" rod + 1.875 = 10.2 so it was decked .045" on that side as it was -.005". PLUS the heads were milled an unknown amount by the PO. PLUS the ex side of the heads appeared to have been milled flat. All of this would affect clearance. NOW I'm not surprised.
Those are the only things I can figure that would have affected my clearance.
SO
If one is contemplating milling the deck, block, ex manifold face on the head OR the manifold, consider it WILL affect your clearance as it did mine.
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