Alright. an 86 305. just replaced the head gaskets + edelbrock intake/chrome valve covers.

its leaking down the back of the motor and onto the ypipe. as well as what could appear to be down the sides of the block.

with the new valve covers i bought those silly tall wing nut type hold downs. the threads were to deep so i put washers above the spreader bars.

i thought that wasnt sufficient so i ground off a 1/4" off each threaded part and still put one washer on each bolt.

it still appears to be leaking. i used rtv on the intake mani at the front and back of the block. mabey i didnt use enough.

worst fear right now is the head gasket is leaking. although there is no coolant in oil/ oil in coolant. exhaust smells like always should. is it poissible for the gasket to just leak oil out and not in?

i rebuilt my 350 tpi not even 2 months ago with no issues. i followed the exact same steps, torque heads in the clockwise pattern in 3 steps. the head was fresh out of the machine shop. all gasket surfaces were spotless. i put rtv on the brand new bolts on both heads even tho they came with sealant on them from felpro.

i dunno what to do. i think ill try redoing the intake manifold gaskets with more rtv on each end...

ps the car runs ****ing great so im thinking htat if it was the headgaskets it wouldnt be running this good.

Before you pull the intake again, put the original valve covers back on with new gaskets and stock bolts. Wash the engine down and run it.
(Some of those shiney chrome valve covers need those wing nuts because you will be pulling them off weekly trying to get them to stop leaking)

yeah thats what i thought which is why i shortned the bolts. but when i pulled themoff i compared them to the old covers and they were exactly the same

The problem frequently with inexpensive stamped steel aftermarket covers is the flatness of the sealing surface.
There is probably 100 threads of people trying to get them to stop leaking. If the sealing surface is not "planar" they will have to be glued on with only a thick bead of silicone.

well the next thing im gonna do is, you can buy a metal frame. basically it takes the place of the "spreader bars" and goes all the way around, putting even pressure everywhere.....in theory anywhoo.if that doesnt work then i guess ill try RTV.

For the valve covers, try rubber gaskets instead of paper/cork/rtv.

For the intake - the RTV must dry first. I did mine 3 times until I figured out this trick.

1st, put a nice even bead of RTV on front and rear, making sure to get a good glob in the corners. Then, let it dry for 2 hours - you want it to dry almost all the way through (this is a great time to watch the Nascar race).

Then, put more RTV on top of the mostly-dried bead, and while it's wet install the intake, and torque it to specs. This will fill any gaps on the china wall (especially in the corners where they always leak, and the new will seal any gaps between the dried and the intake surface.

Good Luck!