Fnished a big project last night...

[DetroitIron]

Just wanted to thank this site and the folks on it for all the help. I just replaced head gaskets on my 89 C1500 350 TBI...never did this level of engine work/tear down before Took my time and followed what I had learned on this site...got the last stuff back on (dang those iron heads are heavy) and felt a bit nervous about timing and making sure I got the distributor back in correctly/tdc, etc...Then about 9PM last night after double checking a few things..added oil and coolant.....the moment of truth as I turned the key for the first time in 45 days....she started and stumbled to life.....fingers crossed I moved the distributer to smooth it out as it came up to temp...watching and hoping for no leaks....set the timing with my Dad's 30 year old Montgomery Wards cheapo timing light. Success! I'm going to have a few cold ones tonight. Thanks for a great site and the people on it.

[Cape Codder]

Congrates on getting her done. The last head gasket job I did was years ago on a 6500 truck with a big block. It had a tilt nose so those big heavy heads were a little easier to deal with.

[95 S_Trucker]

Small block heads are light compared to the big block heads. I did the right side on my 99 and I kept telling myself, don't drop it on the fender, don't drop it on the fender.

That's great that you got it all done

[DetroitIron]

Had a little scare tonight driving with engine temp started heading up....checked everything including the brand new thermostat....Yup...brand new and boiled it in water on the stove to test and wouldn't open up....swapped it out and things are good again. Whew! I hear that happens with new t-stats sometimes

[LEEVON]

Make sure you set the timing to zero degrees with the brown/white wire down by the column un-plugged.

[sjarrett71]

I've learned to always test a new thermostat before installing it.

Glad to hear you got everything done and it's running again!

[speedygonzales]

Motorad Fail Safe Thermostat - YouTube

[DetroitIron]

Replacing the head gaskets really helped my truck heater.....I was going to check the condition of the heater core under the dash today and while removing the black cover I noticed a 2x3 inch piece was cracked out...I think this is why the air from the fan seemed slow...ran to the local U wrench it and found an untracked one for $4 bucks...ended up back flowing the heater core and cleaned all the fuzzes from the core fins...put it all back together and my heater can roast me out on a cold day like today plus the vents are getting more air flow from the blower motor...this will be great for next winter :-)