Decking a 304 block?

Does anybody know how many thousandths I can safely take of a 304 when decking the block? Also does anybody know how thick head gaskets are? I was thinking 40 thousandths; is that correct? The pistons I will be using are just cheap sealed power dished pistons. I cannot find any good flat-top pistons that are reasonably priced. I thought I would deck the block in an attempt to get the piston closer to the head since I am using dished pistons.

 

you would have to know the length of the rod +piston pin height.then measure deck height to determine the deck clearence.i don't know what the deck clearence is on stock 304,but you can go as little as .000" .i run .005" on my 427 ford.head gasket ( .040" compressed) sounds about right.lots of factors involved ,compression ratio,valve clearence,etc.

mike s.

 

Just keep your pushrod length in mind. The lifters and rocker arms are "non-adjustable" on the AMC V8 and if you take much off the block you may have to compensate elsewhere (shorter pushrods?).
I'm far from an expert so you'll want other opinions. This is my first jeep (always had Chevy's) and I'm installing a 360 in it. Putting in new cam, lifters, oil pump etc. while I've got it on the stand and of course noticed the pushrods/rockers. Got a lot of invaluable advice on this forum.