Retorquing head

:?: I am about to retorque the head on my '72 Interstate. And then adjust valves. Have whitworth combo set and getting a socket from Fair Spares. Have two fairly new clicker torque wrenches which I use frequently for service on my BMW K1200.

From what I've read - I should slacken each bolt before torquing. Should I be slackening the valve adjusters? From what I can see several of the bolts must be accessed by box end only, not socket. How best to judge proper torque using these wrenches? Looks like at least one of these wrenches will be visiting my bench grinder?

Any other tips appreciated.

Stuart Ostroff

Stewart,

You will have to grind down one of your box-end wrenches (I can't remember the size) in order to access the nut located between and at the rear of the cylinders. This downward-looking nut is impossible to make up with a torque wrench.

To get a feel for the correct torque, make up a nut of the same size in an accessible fixture using a box end wrench. If the torque is say 20 ft-lbs., first guess at it using your box end wrench and then check with a torque wrench. Repeat this exercise several times to learn the feel of the correct torque.

Hope this helps,

Jason