I'm replacing heads and head gaskets on my '99 DII and finally got the block cleaned up using brake cleaner and a wire brush. Underneath the crud there was a lot of dings to the block. I've attached photos of the two front corners. Is this normal? How perfect does the block need to be for the new gaskets to seal effectively? Can I proceed to put things back together or what do I need to do?

 

Looks like normal corrosion from a system that doesn't have it's coolant changed often enough. Just clean it up(looks like you already did that) and throw her back together.

 

That's so good to hear!

I know the manual says to do two extra 90 degree turns after torquing head bolts to 15 lbs but I saw an old Disco Mike post that referenced a LR tech who suggested a more accurate torquing of 25 lb, 55-60, and 78-79. Any thoughts from anybody else?