Head studs to block torque figure

[George Wilder]

Assembling a B series engine
Fitting head studs to block
Is there a prescribed torque setting anywhere - can't find anything in the BMC Workshop Manual,Haynes or Porter books?

[George Wilder]

Do we agree this is the best way forward

From http://www.mgexp.com/article/tuning-the ... ngine.html

Replacement of your ancient-and-probably-stretched-by-now head studs with new stock ones from Brit Tek (Brit Tek Part # HSK001) or stronger ones made of 8740 steel from ARP (Brit Tek Part # HSK002) is also recommended. Stretched head studs will not hold their torque settings and will lead to a leaking or blown head gasket and possibly a warped and/or cracked head.

Repeated retorquing with stretched head studs will likely result in a cracked head. Retap the threads in the block prior to installing them with antisieze compound on their threads and do not attempt to torque the studs down as this may lead to cracking of the block. Torquing of the head compression nuts will accomplish this task just fine. Don’t make the all-too-common mistake of running steel head studs all the way down into the block until they bottom out. Steel studs have a different coefficient of expansion than that of a cast iron block and preloading them will aggravate this factor. If they’re bottomed out in the block they can cause the deck to distort as they expand more than the block, and that could lead to a blown gasket, or even a cracked deck of the block. When the block cools, being a casting it will tend to return to its original flat shape if it hasn't cracked. Never use a thread locking compound as it will result in damage to the threads whenever the studs are removed, rendering them useless.

Should the stud spin in its threads when torquing, check to be sure that the studs aren't undersize. Use either the original hardened thick head stud washers or replacement items of the best quality (thick and with machined faces) on the head, never thin mild steel ones. Make sure that the washer seating surfaces are machined flat with an end mill after the head has been skimmed so that they will be a parallel plane to the mating surface so that torque readings will be accurate. Put an anti-seize compound on the threads prior to installing the head compression nuts and torquing them to the head.

While oiling of the threads is commonly done to protect from rust, but the antisieze compound will do an adequate job of protecting the threads from corrosion. If you're really paranoid about the threads corroding, then use acorn nuts!