ABY head-skimm or not to skimm

[Thuppu]

Alex, I have been wondering why the head is scrap under the factory spec height? No one seemd to know on our finnish forum when I asked about it some time back. Is it related to the cam timing with stock gear or is it a material strenght issue?

BTW I have always shimmed my heads to make sure the new gasket seals as good as possible.

[diesel des]

Think its cam timing related so a fancy pully should give more wiggle room. Obviously up to a point were piston to valve clearance becomes an issue.

[220bhp]

I cannot find my workshop manual at the moment , But there is a minimum measurement through the bolt holes which I think from memory is 118.1mm.
I will try and find the manual, and verify that measurement.
It is important to undo the headbolts in sequence to avoid and distortion.
The other thing to check for is corrosion around the waterways. Usually caused buy the wrong antifrezze being used. When you skim the head it can enlarge them due to the corrosion.
Place the old gasket on the head and you will see.

[piotr]

Thank you for your info buddy. Luckily there is a very tiny amount of corrosion around them,and I removed bolts in correct order

[Error404]

Think its cam timing related so a fancy pully should give more wiggle room. Obviously up to a point were piston to valve clearance becomes an issue.