It turned out that the full gasket set I had ordered included the wrong head gaskets - Fel-Pro Permatorque 1017's which, when I studied them a little closer, turned out to be for 4.500" bore, and I needed 1027's for my 4.310" bore. But good ol' Summit got them here in 2 days, and I finally got to put those ARP stainless steel bolts in place.
Learned something new along the way - I noticed that there was a chamfer on one side of the ARP washers, I wasn't sure what they were there for, so I called ARP and the guy said because their bolts are radiused under the head, the chamfered side faces the bolt head so there is good contact - so there is only one right way to assemble them.
Next up - install the rest of the valve train (lifters, pushrods, and rocker arms) then set initial valve lash (easy to do with hydraulic roller lifters), then intake manifold, then ...
And I found a local shop that has an engine dynamometer, I will visit them soon to check out their setup, however I will wait until Autumn to take the motor there since it is too hot now to be taking it out of the garage, loading/unloading it, etc.
I will have my 56 on the road with the 496 this Winter - which is prime cruising time down here, eh?
Dave would like to see what your dyno sheet says when you are done the motor looks great. I'm just got exhaust put on mine today and the wife and I are going for the first test ride (496. 598.5 hp 670 ftlbs torque in my 65)
'64 Parisienne CS "barn find" - last on the road in '86 ... Owner Protection Plan booklet, original paint, original near-mint aqua interior, original aqua GM floor mats, original 283, factory posi, and original rust.
1956 Pontiac Pathfinder 2dr sedan, 496 - dyno'd 545 hp, stick shift, 4.11 posi - Hot Rod