Those heads look a bit "too nice to use", but that is good.
I concur on cleaning the oil passages, threads, and testing the cleaned bolt holes of debris so they work well with each other.
Yes, the OEM head gaskets when the engines were new was the .020" steel shim head gasket. We did not see the .040-.060" head gaskets until 10.0CR came to be an issue with available fuels. In one respect the original engines were spec'd for 97 Research Octane fuels. Which is close to what 93 Pump Octane Super Unleaded gas approximates today.
Still, though, I might suggest the Fel-Pro head gaskets which have the copper wire inside of the "fire ring" for sealing which is at least as good as the old copper wire in a groove cut into the block's deck surface for top fuel racers of back then. That copper wire replaced the head gasket, itself, as to cylinder sealing. Personally, I would aim for a better total seal of the cylinders to the cylinder head.
The other side of that conversation is that "IF it was good enough for back then, it should be good enough for today". Which is a valid point. As newer and better products have evolved from their need to be better.
For example, the steel shim breastplate intake manifold gasket is plenty good enough, BUT when I replaced the intake gasket as it seemed it had a bit of a vacuum leak, I found nothing, yet I put high-heat black silicone sealer in the stamped insets around the ports. When compressed, upon installation, the sealer compressed to make a more perfect seal. Which was obvious, to me, when I heard the engine run the first time. The OEM gasket itself might have been doing well, but my additions sounded like they helped a bit. Just MY experiences.
In one of the later Mopar Perf Race Manuals, on the subject of CR, they noted that it was better to run a lower compression ratio than to run the higher CR, which could need a spark timing calibration that was "Retarded from optimum" to do so. So . . . if the slightly thicker gasket can allow a few degrees more than stock as to initial timing, I'm good with that, for available fuels.
Of course, ELEVATION affects an engine's octane requirements. This means that what we got as Super Unleaded in DFW, at 92 Pump Octane, became 90 Pump Octane in Abilene, TX, for example, for the same-named product. So, geographical location can make a difference.
Your money. Your car. Your dreams. Enjoy!
CBODY67
