Prepping for head gasket job

So ol' Big Iron 1-7 blew a head gasket coming home from a DAV Parade on the 4th. Right as I was trying to decide to deploy to Kerr County- she said NOPE!! I've got a set of gaskets on order. What else should I take care of while I'm diving that deep into the engine? Any tips, tricks, or tweaks? I'm going for longevity, reliability, and efficiency (in that order)

I presume you have done one on a deuce before. you know that some of the disassembly/ reassembly can require special tools and techniques. has anything else about how the engine/oil/cooling/fuel been something that you wanted to take care of. if its been a while since last time heads were off , think about a good clean out of all the water passages in the block. if the gasket only blew one head gasket and the other head has no sign of leakage, just do the one that blew. boil the radiator out. change the hoses/belts, check for weeping freeze plugs in the block and manifold a lot of times its easy to keep expanding the scope of work. the old "while i'm in here i might as well" syndrome. my two cents

I have not done heads on an LDT before- just a Chevy 350! I will be flushing the cooling system, and probably getting the radiator re-cored. (and on scope-creep in that direction also adding a coolant filter.)
Truck is a 1988 USAF model that was absolutely babied by the USAF. Doesn't even have 20k miles on it. I recently bypassed the FCD, and the temps were running "slightly elevated" this run. (Just noting, not assuming correlation) Coolant level was nominal. Heads have been seeping an "allowable" amount of oil until this gasket blew. (saw noticeable bubbling from the front)

Replace the short coolant hoses while you have the intake and water passages off. Have gasket material on hand to make new gaskets for things you run into removing. I agree with the discipline needed to only to what needs to be done, but that decision is yours. I tend to try and knock out the little jobs that are easier to do while stuff is apart, for peace of mind. Yes, that can spiral out of control!
I am not a friend of re-using gaskets unless I absolutely have to , so new intake and exhaust manifold gaskets; your coolant is drained, so does in need a look at the water pump? Oil return hose from the turbo, just because it heat cycles and becomes brittle.

More reading on head gasket job:

sounds like you have a good one. congrats. sometimes the speedo's aren't accurate, say if they got changed, which was not that uncommon. recoring a radiator can get expensive, especially on such a large radiator. a good boil at a rad shop can tell a lot about its condition and what should be done. however you will will want to do what you think is best. cudo's to you for keeping her tip top. if memory serves, and it does not always, there are one or two freeze plugs(expansion plugs) on the top of the water head er. it has a tendency to collect exterior water and get pinholes. also is one at the rear of the block up against the firewall. only easy way to get at it is to remove the upper floor board above the tranny. with such low mileage means it has sat somewhere for very extended periods. deuces love to be used and perform much better and less maint the more you run them. some of the copper gaskets can be reused if re-annealed and aren't too deformed. torqueing the head nuts may require a special tool as you have very limited space to work with. a short offset(90 degree) for your wrench can solve that. and it does not change your torque specs. go in stages till you get to final. then recheck after a short run in period. the manuals have pretty good details and are available on this site. while I am thinking about it, a good two or three coats of copper gasket on the head gasket is a good thing. not that Martha knows anything about diesels. I have heard about shellacking the block side of the gasket. not a fan but some people like to glue it to the block. some of the head studs penetrate to water jacket cavity. while i don't thinking gluing the head studs is good a little never seize on some of them may help with water blow by. sorry for babbling on about this stuff. enjoy your wrench time, I do. I love these when they run right. barely have to tickle the starter and she comes to life.

@tommys2patrick yes, there is one thread called "all this for a freeze plug??" in the listing - and it is because when that freeze plug blows, you essentially do a head gasket job! Maybe replacing these while the heads are off is a really good insurance!