Sorry to ask so many dumb questions but I saw this in my '62 FSM and it struck me as odd....

After tightening the head bolts in sequence to 65 ft lbs, the FSM then sez: "Repeat bolt tightening sequence, by first loosening each bolt and then tightening to 65 ft lbs."

So does this mean loosen each one just a bit to make sure it is rotating while tightening to get a valid torque wrench reading?

BTW, my standard process for cylinder heads is to tighten the bolts/fasteners 3 times in the prescribed sequence, stepping up in torque each time. I would start at 30 ft lbs on all of them, then go to 50 ft lbs on all, then finally go up to 65 ft lbs on all. Any reason to think this would not work for the steel shim head gasket?

Tnx in advance. Mark B.

Well, I went ahead and torqued this down. Have to say the process of stepping up the torque gave the oddest 'feel' to the torque on the bolts that I have experienced. It just seemed to be 'more squishy' as I re-torqued to each level. As a final step, I did the FSM procedure of lossening each bolt a bit and then re-torquing to 65 lbs. That step resulted in a more consistent feel to the final torque. Must be something to do with the sealer-on-the-shim-gasket that is different from the usual composite gaskets I am used to.

I'll be sure to do a re-torque after a good heat cycle or 2.