What is the location of long and short bolts in big block Chevy heads?

Big block Chevy heads have a staggered bolt pattern. There's no consistent "long" and "short" designation in terms of all bolts being uniformly longer or shorter on one side. Instead, the arrangement is based on the staggered pattern itself.

The bolts are arranged so that *adjacent* bolts are of differing lengths. A long bolt will be next to a short bolt, and vice versa, across the entire head. This is crucial for proper head gasket sealing and clamping pressure. You cannot simply use all long or all short bolts; the pattern *must* be followed. A mismatched or incorrect sequence will lead to improper clamping and potential head gasket failure.

Therefore, there's no single answer to "where" the long and short bolts are; you must consult a diagram or torque sequence specific to your particular big block Chevy head (e.g., a 396, 427, 454, etc. even within those engine families, there may be variations). These diagrams typically show the bolt locations and their correct lengths. Incorrect installation will cause significant engine problems.