Craftsman LT1000 with a Briggs & Stratton 31G777-0167E1 engine

[Rivets]

No, will just burn away in the first 5 seconds of running.

 

[StarTech]

Being a mica coated gasket the answer is no. But make you use the new torque value of listed below 250in/lbs = 20.8 ft/lbs so I simply it to 21 ft/lbs

 

[Legal v8]

Alright. I followed the advice you guys gave me and I got it back together to spec, and it starts and runs really nice. Oil will still spray out of the dipstick tube when running, but not to the same intensity as before. I do not see any exhaust vapor/smoke coming from the tube after shutting it down, so I should be good, at least for now. The head was nowhere near as flat as I expected it would/should have been, so I worked it flat on a piece of glass and fine abrasive. As long as I didn’t goof up getting it flat, it should last awhile before needing another gasket job done.

Many thanks to everyone who contributed and offered help.