Head Thickness. Experts please

[EvanH]

I need to know the minimum head thickness for my heads before it is a problem. As they sit, perfectly level, no warp, they are 5.183 inches, and 5.184 inches thick.

My machinist tells me I will need shims between the block and the head gasket.

What do I do?

[RealMcCoy]

So they've had .016/.017 machined off... That's not enough to cause major problems, but it will change your cam timing slightly. If it's a performance build, I'd recommend adjustable cam gears and degreeing the cams. But if it's a stock rebuild, you'll never notice the difference.

Do they even make shims for these motors? I've used them on a lot of Toyotas, but never had a call to even look for them in this application.

[DocWalt]

What he said. I've never seen anyone use shims on these engines.

[niterydr]

I have yet to see shims, but have seen extremely thick (+.250") copper headgaskets on a botched deck blocking job that came in about 5 years ago. With that little of a difference, perhaps a slightly thicker headgasket?