head gaskets are a joke on the supercoupes now, i can get 'er done in 8 hours flat remove, repair, replace
that even includes the time it take me to resurface them with a low enough RA for mls gaskets, pressure check, and sandblast.
copper spray is your friend you'll need to spray the deck and the heads, don't worry about getting the cylinder walls and pistons it'll burn off
the mls gaskets have a rivet that gets in the way, you'll need to drill it out, you'll see which rivet it is quick it won't let the head sit flush.
arp head studs for the gm 2.8 v6 fits close enough to use them
arp 233-4003 $84 summitracing.com
in 97 ford swapped all there windsor v6s to the mls gaskets to prevent the common failures they were having. Back in the 90s we were resurfacing and revalving about 6 sets a day for the dealerships.
step in the autoparts store and get the gaskets for a 97 f150 4.2 v6.
9250-pt driver side, 9253-pt passenger side
autozone usually has them the cheapest, the price just reduced FYI
don't forget the o2 sensors are probably toast, ntk sensors last longer than bosch and are only a few bucks more, stock is 3 wire
might as well get a bhj balancer while your at it, $350 for the SFI shoot me a PM if you need one