ok i have posted a bit in the past couple weeks about my car and its troubles. 1 by 1 i am getting things taken care of but im getting tired of it. i finally got it started but i dont have the right serpentine belt for it. i will get that tomorow. i am having trouble filling it with coolant also. i dont want to mess it up. i think the coolant temp sensor my not be working right but after i finally put some coolant in and had it running with the heat on to bleed more air out and continue to fill with coolant i looked at the gauge and the s.o.b. was already right below 260. i have brand new heads and im scared i hurt them. what do you think the chances are. the valve covers were really hot. also i had attempted to adjust rockers before but i am not 100% certain it was a great job. when it runs it ticks and tacks very bad. but i am trying to get the coolant thing done so that i can adjust rockers. am i going to hurt it. one in particular was making a horrid knock. also i think i am getting coolant pouring out somewhere but im not sure. i started the car with the rad cap off so that i could fill it as it ran but i think it sprayed out. i have no idea what to do. i just need some direction. i almost forgot but also my tach and battery gauge doesnt work. i checked the wires to the coil and i think they are good. the serpentine belt isnt on but shouldnt the battery show voltage without the alt.

 

From the sounds of it the valves are out of whack.
There are valve adjustment write ups all over the internet. Here's the one I use:
First you have to absolutely make sure #1 is at TDC. You can do this by taking the spark plug out of #1 and stuff a McD's straw into the cylinder, turn the car over by hand using a 5/8" socket on the crank bolt (it's a PITA if all plugs are in, but turn it slowly and give the cylinders time to bleed out the compression) until there is enough resistence on the straw that it will not move. Once that happens you can zero in TDC by turning the crank a few degress further to see if there is a change in resistence. I like using the McD's straws because they are larger than normal and will "squish" on the cylinder head quench area much better. The way you can tell #1 is on its compression stroke is before you insert the straw, crank the engine over and keep your finger on the spark plug hole. That way you can feel the cylinder pressurize with the compression stroke. Then put the straw into the plug hole and continue with the above. This is assuming the rockers are still making contact with the valves. If the rockers are no longer on the valves then you'll have to watch the pushrods through their cycle and crank until both pushrods are uniform.
After TDC is found on #1 you can then adjust:
1 intake
1 exhaust
2 intake
5 intake
7 intake
3 exhaust
4 exhaust
8 exhaust

After this is complete mark your damper and turn the crank again a full 360* and once again zero in TDC on #1 using the straw.
Adjust the following:
3 intake
4 intake
6 intake
6 exhaust
8 intake
2 exhaust
5 exhaust
7 exhaust

As far as coolant goes... Turning the heater on will do nothing for bleeding the coolant system.
The easiest method I've used is to turn both screws open and poor the coolant into the radiator with the engine off. When the system starts to get full you will hear a hiss out of either bleeder screw. After coolant starts to ooze out of the screw on the t-stat housing, close it and start the engine. Have someone in the car watching the guage constantly while you watch your radiator. Usually I try to keep the radiator about half full whilst the engine is running. This way when the coolant expands it will not burp out and make a mess.
The way I can tell the system is pretty much bled out is when I see a constant flow of coolant flowing from the steam pipe into the radiator (looking through radiator fill). I then fill the rest of the radiator up w/ coolant while the engine is still running and screw the rad. fill cap on and close the top (heater hose to heater core) bleeder screw, let the system pressurize and turn the t-stat housing screw open. If coolant immediately starts to bleed out I shut that one down and then open the top screw. If noting comes out I keep it open until I either see coolant come out or until the system isn't pressurized anymore. I then close it, let the system pressurize and repeat the process until a steady stream of coolant comes out.

 

now that my car is running is it ok to just adj. rockers like that

 

ok i got a new serp. belt put it on and i think all my guages are dead. i dont get a voltage reading. my engine temp moves very slightly but when i went out to the car this morning at startup it read 260. so it isnt just my tach but all my guages. the