So my girlfriend'* dad has an old '74 Grandville that I've been doing some work on because it'* been sitting a while and her dad isnt really the mechanically inclined person (think putting 2 stroke mix in a 4 stroke )

Anyway, after pulling it out of the garage to work on the trans, I noticed it had a very rough start, longer than the normal warm up time for an engine. On top of that, it was blowing a TON of white smoke out of BOTH tailpipes (true duals, no cross/cats) and when I tried to get it back in the garage it had almost no power. So, when I was working on the trans I checked the vacuum modulator to see if there was any fluid that it could be sucking up, no dice. I didn't really wanna get the $42 blown gasket checker from NAPA since it isnt my car (yet ) so I'm just gonna pull the heads, its got a leaking intake and valve cover gasket anyway.

So to my main point is, any tips for replacing a head gasket? Especially specifically for a '74 Pontiac 455 4bbl -> TH400. General tips would be great as well, I've done some of my own research in another forum

Thanks a bazillion,
Dan

About the only advice I have is lift with your legs, not your back and make sure you adjust the valves properly.

Beyond that, I can't think of anything that should be challenging.

adjust for valve lash?