I have little experience in pulling apart the engines like you have. 1. What do you use to de-coke the piston crown and head and is it realy vital to do it at all?
2. what is a proper method to remove the old gasket without digging into the metal in the process. I recently tried doing it with a used razor blade on an old powertorque and found it a frustrating experience. I ended up resorting to rubbing the head on sand paper mounted on a sheet of glass to remove all traces!
3. Do you need a torque wrench to tighten the head nuts or is there a rule of thumb method to tightening coreectly, including the sequence?

Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!