Engine questions

[fireguyfire]

I'm going through the 1970 383 engine that is currently out of my 73 challenger so that I can repaint the engine bay, and the engine.
I'm going through the heads to make sure everything is right and they seem really good so far which is great.
I do have a couple of questions;
1) on both heads, all of the exhaust attachments are studs,except the very front one on both heads which is a bolt; this sucks because if you need to change a manifold gasket you will have to drain the coolant because if you remove the front bolt it will leak like crazy.
Is this correct, or should they all be studs and nuts? My engine had old school hooker headers on it which I've removed as I'm going back to stock; would this have anything to do with the bolt?

2) I've got a full engine gasket set (Felpro I believe); on the head gaskets, do you guys recommend copper spray on the gaskets before installation, or not? Seems to be 50/50 on the internet whether to use the copper spray or not.

[Cuda Cody]

Studs on the exhaust mounts for all of them.

https://www.rosevillemoparts.com/product/exhaust-manifold-hardware-kit-for-68-74-383_440-b_e/

[Brads70]

Cody has you covered with the studs. As for the gasket and the copper spray..... if you have the steel shim head gaskets then I'd say yes to the spray, if its not the steel shim type than no you don't use the spray gasket tack.

[fireguyfire]

Thanks fellas; I was pretty sure that was right but wanted to make sure.
As usual this brings up another couple of questions I should have asked originally as well.

Do you guys use any sealant on the threads of the exhaust stud since it goes into a water jacket, and if so, what kind?

Another "dilemma " I've got is that my 70 383 was obviously originally blue, and then when it was rebuilt and bored out , TRW forged pistons, etc etc it was repainted orange.
What colour would you guys paint this 383? My car is red so blue would probably look better in the engine bay, and it was originally a non HP 383, but with all of the work done to it and with a 4 barrel EFI kit on it , it will probably perform like or better than an HP 383 back in the day.
Unfortunately the engine numbers on the tab at the front top of the engine are unreadable as the block was obviously decked when it was rebuilt.

Opinions?

[Cuda Cody]

Yes use sealant in the exhaust studs that are in water jackets.   

Paint the engine any color you like.  I like orange and since it's the HP color it's the color I prefer.

[fireguyfire]

As always, thanks for the info Cuda Cody; one last question for clarification, what type of sealant would be recommended to seal up the exhaust stud?

[JonH]

As always, thanks for the info Cuda Cody; one last question for clarification, what type of sealant would be recommended to seal up the exhaust stud?

Teflon pipe thread sealer. Comes in a tube available at any hardware or auto parts store. FWIW I prefer orange as well...

[headejm]

You will want to use a high temperature thread sealant. I used this on my rebuild. 

[fireguyfire]

Another question has arisen!
Using the full engine gasket set I have for the 70 383, I am lapping the valves in and changing out the valve seals which are pretty hard.
The kit has me confused and has no instructions. It comes with 3 different types (heights) of valve seals, 8 of each.
Obviously I only need 16 so 1 package is redundant. The old valve seals I am removing are the tallest style, but I would need 16 of those which I don't have.
So I obviously have 8 intake, and 8 exhaust valve seals.
Can anyone straighten me out as to which are which?

[headejm]

My cylinder head guy would not use those umbrella-type seals. He insisted on the positive-type seals that require machining of the top of the valve guide to install. Here is a reference from the Fel-Pro website.

[Brads70]

   another vote for the positive type seals . It's all I would ever use, but the heads need to be machined for them.  Also go get a good 3 angle valve job done at the very least. The heads is where you spend the money to make HP for little investment of machining. Get the seals done at the same time.

[JS29]

  X3 on the seals. 

[Chryco Psycho]

Assuming you do not want to machine the heads for the smaller type of seals I would use the middle seal on the intake valves as it should seal best against the vaccum , you can use the left seal on exhaust

[jimynick]

If the heads are still off and not re-assembled, and if memory serves, there used to be a kit with a cutter to machine the valve guide bosses for the PC style seal and you could do it yourself and use the mentioned, good seals. 

[fireguyfire]

Thanks for the tips