Use the clay for safety. only time is lost indouble checking everything. Here is a little more food for thought as I learned this one the hard way and rather then taking it all apart it took over a month to find PLugs Iknow your running a flat top. My issue was with a poppup. Everything was checked to Specks.Everything But the PLugs. BIG Ops.They Hit the pistons. If this would have been Checked as well I would not have spent so much time looking. BUT I also learned something about Plugs. and that there is a min. of a.010 difference when the plugs are made. (no matter who makes them) So just because one set clears Don't mean the next set will. I could never gap my plugs more then .045 with champions and no more the .055 with autolites Because the pistons would hit the electrode(tip) and close the gap. So when I found that issue I started calling to different plug companys And thats what i found out about plugs. SO never second Guess just double check. It's by far safer & Cheaper.
hope this helps }[oooooo]