The headgasket on my M103 deteriorated due to lack of coolant changes by the previous owners, and needed to be replaced. When I pulled the head I marked the position of the cam sprocket and the timing chain. All was good.

I got the head back from the machine shop. I had the shop do a valve job, new guides, seals, etc. on the head. It looks great. They removed and installed the cam, and rocker assembly so it was ready to bolt onto the block.

Now comes the problem. I neglected to verify the position of the cam, so now the head is on the block, and I'm close to 180 degrees out on the cam timing. I can't rotate the cam without hitting the pistons, so I figure my options are to either: 1) pull the head back off, or 2) pull the rocker assembly and repostion the cam.

I'm assuming that if I pull the head I will have ruined the headgasket seal. Is this correct? It would be my preference to pull the head as I think that would be easier than pulling the rocker assembly, but any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks.