Tip for 292 head R&R with engine in vehicle.
 

This post is for anyone who has wondered how to deal with the pushrods on cylinder 6 hitting the firewall when you try to remove them. I've seen different crazy ways people have dealt with this issue. Rotating the engine on the passenger mount, pulling the engine stands so the engine will tilt forward,drilling holes in the firewall etc. I've thought about this for awhile and had an idea but wanted to make sure it worked first before saying anything. So now after having done the head swap, this is how you do the job easily without any of that.

After pulling the other pushrods and removing all the head bolts, lift the #6 pushrods up until they clear the engine deck. Hold them up with rubber bands, orings or something similar. I used orings wrapped around the pushrod & the rocker stud. lift the head slightly and push it to the passenger side just enough to slip the pushrods out the bottom.
On reassembly lay the head gasket on the block. Then lay 2 thin strips of wood on the head gasket. This allows you to push the head to the side without damaging the head gasket. So slip the pushrods back in from the bottom securing them with the orings. Position the head properly and carefully remove the wood strips. Proceed with remainder of head installation.

Re: Tip for 292 head R&R with engine in vehicle.
 

With the long 6 cyl heads I use an engine hoist to lift the head and just use the rubber band method until the back of the head is out enough, then I pull the rods out so they're not in the way for the rest of the removal.

Re: Tip for 292 head R&R with engine in vehicle.
 

This sounds like a great idea for pulling the head from a 292 L6. I wish you had pictures. Having a hard time imagining the pushrods aren't too long to clear from the block.
If you pull the lifters from the lower block, will that give you a 3'' drop to lower the pushrods thru?

I have usually dropped the Passenger Side motor mount and tilted the block.

One time when I had a busted Exhaust Valve Spring on Cyl#6, we drilled a 1/2'' hole in the flat side of the prybar type valve spring compresser, so the pushrod came thru the hole and did not interfere. But it wasn't necessary to pull the whole head.

Re: Tip for 292 head R&R with engine in vehicle.
 

Read my second paragraph carefully. There is enough room between the engine deck & firewall to hold pushrods up while pushing head to the side just enough to clear the deck & drop them out the bottom.
In other words when you are removing & installing those two pushrods the head is off to the side of the block. At some point I can mock it up with a spare block & head.