Head Gasket repair question

I recently bought a 1987 Pontiac Sunbird knowing the only major problem was the head gasket had blown. I talked to my brother, who is a mechanic, before i bought the car, and he looked at it and said it wouldn't be too hard to fix. Well, after I buy the car my father is telling me that i need to have the head re-ground and seeted/seeded (sorry, i dunno which term is used), while my brother is telling me i don't, and he's done many head gaskets and all he did was clean the heads and put them back on and everything was fine...so which one do i believe? Any help? Thanks.

"Seated"

The head must "seat" on the top of the block perfectly flat.

When a motor overheats - and especially with aluminum heads, the head will have a tendancy to warp or twist slightly, causing the gasket to not seal properly in all area's.

An automotive machine shop can check the head once it is off, or like your brother say's you can chance it - which I have done many times.

"Seated"

The head must "seat" on the top of the block perfectly flat.

When a motor overheats - and especially with aluminum heads, the head will have a tendancy to warp or twist slightly, causing the gasket to not seal properly in all area's.

An automotive machine shop can check the head once it is off, or like your brother say's you can chance it - which I have done many times.

Thanks, now, does the head need to be refinished, or is it ok just to scrape off the old gasket gunk crap and put the new one on?

Did the car overheat ??
Is the head aluminum ??

If the answers are "yes", then at least pay a few dollars to have it checked first.

Otherwise you should be safe to just replace the gasket.