Thanks again, Jim Danforth

Jim, The overhaul kit arrived last Wednesday evening just as we figured. Have now completed my first overhaul of a WD45 engine. Runs great even though I'm running it on a WC carb temporarily. Just ordered kit and float from Steve@B%B so can put correct carb on soon. Talk about running sweet. Guess what, if you discount a small leak at filter assembly,(T fitting was loose) I have no oil leaks even at front and rear pan gaskets. Only had one problem otherwise. The blank plate on second water manifold hole in head leaked when I filled with water. Took care of that. It started so quickly, it almost scared me. I can remember when I was still very young,(10 or under) helping Dad and brother rebuild one.Seems  I got to do a lot of cleaning but no real work. Service manual is great and walked me through all the steps just fine. Now my WD45 Hi Crop is ready to roll. Going back up to Texas tomorrow to pick up some implements for it plus a parts C. What a great week this has been. God Bless.

They normally do that when you torque the head down if you put anything for sealer on that gasket for the plate. Especially when you re-torque. I always have those gaskets on hand. I normally don't put any sealer on the gasket but sometimes I have doubled the plate or found a cast plate (the one the D17 uses for temp sender) as the plate warps and won't seal. There are not many things better than bringing an old engine back to life, are there.