Thanks guys. I was reading the Haynes green manual, page 32. It calls for "29 lb. f ft." on the first round, then you put on the rocker shaft, do a valve-clearance adjust, then bring it up to 58 lb. f. ft. Then you run the engine in for about 10 minutes, then remove the valve cover again and torque the head-bolts up to "61-68 lb. f ft." Then do the final valve-adjust. I just hadn't read up to that point on the next page (34), but yes you had reason to be somewhat alarmed.

That was a good tip on how to use the torque wrench. I DID feel that pivot style handle but didn't know why it was that way.

By the sound of it Jeff, you just do the torque up to 60+ or so all at once (in stages without engine warming)?

My engine is a B18 bored to B20, with a FI "E" head on it and thicker gasket. Best guess is that perhaps the PO was going for a low compression for today's gasses? I don't know if this would effect the recommended torque values in the book very much.