well, after getting screwed over by a ripoff machine shop here locally, i finally got wise enough to do the right thing and send off my engine to herman lewis racing....needless to say, he was well aware of this common problem and we discussed what the plan was before i committed my motor to him.the older 69 390 blocks need the extra set of headbolts added to assist in extra clamping around the cylinder head. i still used the rubber coated flatout gaskets. my heads had the stainless o rings left in place around th combustion chambers.the block had all the oiling mods done by herman, i switched to an 8qt deep sump pan, he ran a braided line from the front of the block near the oil pump to the rear of the bottom of the pan with a sump pickup installed on the inside, the stock pickup was removed and plugged.the blocked was redrilled in different spots to enhance oil flow to all weak points.a cam retainer plate was made to hold the roller cam from walking. i had no trouble at all with leaks as of yet, all of my prior clearances had to be redone from the other idiots work. the motor runs strong and clean, anyone want any more info on this set up, just drop me a line, will be happy to pass along any info on parts that i'm using. i could have saved a shitload of money if i would have used herman from the start.....he knows his stuff about amc motors and i will use him from now on.....take care my amc friends!!!!