HEAD GASKET - DAY 4
Head is OFF!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't know why I feel so happy, I'm not even halfway done. Ah hell, it's still a lot of work. Step #6 as I write this

It only took me about 9hrs and a full array of cuss words to get it off. Cuss words sure come in handy when tackling a job like this. Ok, on to the details. Let me know if you guys see something that doesn't look right on the head/block/gasket
Time to remove the cams. This part hard me nervous because of the stress and cracking that can occur but it really wasn't bad. Just take it slow and trust in the FSM.
Here's the 'service bolt' that the FSM calls for to secure the sub-gear to the driven gear. M6x1.00, 20mm long.
I also took this time to further secure the timing chain and gear. I ended up running a zip tie through the hole where the chain tensioner was. Wrapped it around the chain guide and zipped it up. Ended up working well. We'll see how it works for reassembly. This is how Doug had it in his DVD, I think.
To start removing the exhaust camshaft, the FSM says to position the 2-dot marks at a 35º angle. This is the angle that ended up working for me:
Remove the bearing caps per the FSM. You'll end up with 2 caps at the end holding down all the pressure. I just loosened these in 1/4 turn increments and it came out with no issues.
Exhaust camshaft out!
Now it's on to the intake side. You need a 25º angle on this one. Here's how I set it:
The purpose of the 35º and 25º angles is to have the cam lobes of 4 cylinders off the lifters and the lobes of 2 cylinders ON the lifters. Then you evenly loosen the last two.
Cam lobes pushing down on the lifter
Both camshafts out!
Now it was time to loosen the head bolts. Didn't take any pictures here. Straight-forward, just follow the order in the FSM. A long breaker bar will be really handy here. 12-point socket required, 6-point won't fit. After the bolts were removed I easily lifted out the head. Didn't need to pry anywhere. It was tough to lift out by myself but certainly doable.
Now the time we've all been waiting for, the head gasket!!! Gotta say, this thing was A LOT worse than I anticipated, WOW! I used to think doing this as preventative maintenance was overkill. I was wrong! And I thought it drove great. That's either a testament to Toyota build quality or I just have really low standards when it came to the 80's performance....or both
Cylinder #1. This one was DONE! Check out the severe deformity of the firing ring.
Cylinder #2, same type of deformity.
Cylinder #3, same thing
Cylinder #4, same thing
Cylinder #5, same ol' story
And the infamous #6, a little more firing ring separation on this one
Water ports towards the back of #6. These sections were toast.