^not sure on some that info...but Yes felpro from autozone gets my vote everytime i only use that...as for aligning the head your dowel pins will do that you cant get it wrong as long as you have both them there....but as for suprises first thing to do is undo the battery..2nd is the exhuast manifold 3rd DRAIN the coolent out of the block.on the front of the block there is a 19mm very large plug undo that and step back the fluid will flow out then start with takeing the rest apart just rememeber everyhting your doing..as for compression you might as well change out the pistons to b16 pistons if you want more compression,that way you can do the rod bearings and new rings and have a nice freash motor to last you