Head Bolt Spring Clearance

I'm putting back together my early AFR LT1 heads and had the spring pockets cut out to 1.590 to acomodate the 26055 Beehives. Apparently my heads have a 60/40 shift and the two center exhaust valves are moved closer together which severly limits access to the #1 headbolt. I'm using arp bolts and have perviously ground down the washer flat on either side as this has been a problem with my previous 1.550" springs. Now it looks like the perimeter of the bolt itself will need to be ground down a bit. I don't like this idea and was thinking a headbolt with a long, like 1.5" shank would work perfectly, but I don't think there is such a thing. So, any ideas?
Scott

This is a relatively common problem for LT1 heads equipped with over-sized springs. I'm using 1.625" diameter springs on my factory heads. I use an ARP headbolt that has a small 12 point head. Then, both the washer and the shoulder of the headbolt have to be turned down slightly on the outside diameter in order to slide them between the center springs. Even with these components in place I had to go through an array of sockets in order to find a 7/16", deep socket with a thin enough wall to fit between the springs. Snap-on has such a socket. It takes a little patience and determination but I've put a bunch of 8000 RPM runs on the motor with this set-up and not had a problem.'

Good luck.

12 points are the key, I use them on everything saves time and headaches.

Bret

I know exactly what you are talking about, what a pain in the a s s . 12 points, or take the spring out to do that one bolt, then put it back in.. I have head studs and it's not much different.. It's a pain either way..

Thanks for the input. I was looking at it tonight and it's real tight. So there is a 12 point 7/16" head bolt from ARP? That would certainly help...

Yeah they have the bolt and stud kits both in 12 point, I prefer the studs for the tight spots.

Bret

I believe that studs are preferable to bolts unless you are likely to need to remove the head while the engine is in the car. I'm not sure that the head will come out under those circumstances without removing all the studs first.

I've gotten both my heads off with the motor in the car and the studs in ..

That's great.