Back before everybody got fixated on getting everything machined, draw filing the gasket surfaces and checking with a straight edge and a feeler gauge worked well. I've got a couple of 14" long files that get used frequently for such operations, as well as preparing connecting rod caps for reconditioning.
Jerry

"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln
Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt!
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway
Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!