Im putting back together a 318 I bought. I did the usual teardown to check things out, namely if it had the claimed pistons in it as well as the bearings and timing chain. Anyway, when pulling the heads off I noticed the dowels were missing. Im quasi rushed to put this back together. I was thinking of buying some all thread, cut to length, and put it in 3 or 4 holes to guide the gasket as I put the head and bolts in. Any thoughts?

im no machinist by any means, but wouldn't the heat transfer and expansion of all thread be 100% different from the head and block? what about putting a few head bolts though the head and gasket and using an extra set of hands to lower that down onto the block?
i hate to say this but all thread sounds pretty shade tree to me, if i pulled a motor apart that had that instead of dowels i would be very scared what else id find.

Guess I should have been more specific. I would just use the all thread as a guide to hold the gasket in place while I lowered the head onto the block. Then I would remove the all-thread and replace it with the regular head bolts.

you can make some from the untreaded shank of 1/4 inch bolts. cut them to lenght with a cut off wheel or even a hacksaw and chamfer the ends. use vise grips and a grinder or file. dont put it back together without them. they keep the gasket and head in place.

Why not just get some dowels? Most machine shops have them. I wouldn't run without them.

I have put a head on without dowel pins but it was a straight six Ford. As mentioned earlier it's easy enough to make them from either a bolt or some weld rod.

the dowel pins are for alignment for the head and gasket. do not put the head on without them! any machine shop should have them!

I just finished up a Chevy long block and one dowel was missing and I asked the same question and ended up getting 5 free at a machine shop. Save your time and do it right.

do not run the motor without the head alignment dowels Go to any machinne shop or NAPA part store that has a machine shop and buy new ones I stock them if it comes to a last resort

I don't mean to insult your mechanical ability but if you are considering putting the heads back without dowels you should consider getting someone else to re-assemble the motor.the head bolts only hold the heads down the dowels keep the head from sliding around.