[Spridgets] Responses to Aluminum Head Torque Questions

[Bob Spruck]

Thanks to all who answered my questions or otherwise contributed to an 
understanding of the concern.

I pulled the torque specs from my vintage race car maintenance log 
instead of the logs for my street car or Bugeye, so, yes, they seem high 
for a normal application. The race engine has a compression ratio of 
11.0 to 1, it has been torqued to 60 lb/ft since I built the engine a 
few years ago, so is appropriate for the application. It also has  11 
APT studs. The reason for the low torque on the 11th stud at the front 
of the head is that it is my understanding that it goes thru the head 
into the water jacket, like the thermostat studs do so doesn't have as 
much thread engagement as those into the block.

So, I will check the existing torque settings with my beam torque wrench 
to see what they are set at currently, assuming the DPO who built the 
engine knew what he was doing. However, based on the condition of the 
car when I got it, that might not be a safe assumption. In any event, I 
plan to set the head torque at the factory specs for a cast iron head 
and hope for the best.

Thanks again for all the input.

Bob

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