There is allot going on in this thread with your questions as well as the answers. Best possible way to proceed would be to pull the heads and start over. But IMO, that's not necessary unless the block and heads have been machined an unknown amount. If the block and heads have been machined just to get the surfaces flat, you should be fine with the torquing washers provided. If your not sure, then removing the heads and checking bolt protrusion through the head is all you can do. The beveled inside of the washers goes toward the head of the bolt and the square edge faces the cylinder head. I would coat the threads of the bolts and both sides of the washer with ARP lube. You want the washer to act as a bearing and it doesn't matter if the washer spins or the bolt spins on the washer. They are hardened and parallel ground. What you are after is clamp load. Torque the fasteners to the ARP spec. for their hardware. If you remove the heads, I would replace the gaskets if a composition type. If they are a Cometic or other MLS gasket, you can use them over because you have not made it to the final clamp load yet. 80 LB vs 100 lb with ARP lube. Good luck with the build.
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