i am mechanically inclined, I have installed my lift and done minor stuff, have the chiltons and haynes. Time was start to finish, what would I be looking at?

 

well if you got the book you ought to be ok just make sure you get some new head bolts they are not reuseable. probably 6-8 hrs at a slow steady pace.

 

thanks for all the input man. really appreciate it.

 

no problem just didn't want you to get ripped off thats what we are here for to learn and help out.

 

...as long as the heads aren't warped...is it possible that the price includes sending the heads to the machine shop to be checked and surfaced, possibly reconditioned?

 

on the trucks its pretty easy . on an f body , heads are a pita.

just pull the intake mani and then pull the head bolts. takes a little stregnth for sure. but nothing unbearable.

that is alot of money and you could add some nice mods while your in there. cam and heads would be a great idea .

 

yeah... dude.. pull your heads.. urself . . its not difficult . . just pull the intake+ heads and thats it . . easy job' . . get the gaskets from SDPC2000 .. that's where u prob find them the cheapest/...

 

I'm not ready to call people out to do work out of their homes but post up in the Western Section and you might get some bites. There's a few people East and West of you who do some wrenching on their cars and trucks in their homes who if interested might post up.
but by far the best idea would be for you to get a manual like someone said and just do it yourself.

 

Im in florida...dont think that helps much.

You dont even have "pull" the intake manifold, just unbolt it and raise it gently, making sure you are not pulling or pushing on anything serious and prop it up with something. Thats the way i did it during my head swap.

It helps to have another person there with you. I don't think its possible to raise the manifold one handed. It saves alot of time on the swap, but getting the drivers side head out can be a bit tricky.

 

If you're just doing gaskets and not installing new upgraded heads, I wouldn't just slap gaskets on there without checking the heads for warpage, or you'll be doing the job twice. You'll need a straight edge and a feeler gauge...I'm sure that someone can post up the spec. Was the engine overheated? If so, there's a good chance that those heads warped. How do you know that it needs head gaskets? Is there exhaust in the coolant? Did someone pressure test the system and check for leaks (like looking in the cylinders with a bore scope)? Does the oil look like YooHoo, and is there white smoke out of the exhaust? Just trying to make sure that you're not doing a job that you don't need. A head/head gasket swap is easy on these engines, but not something that you want to do if you don't need to.