Paint it, Clear it or Let It Rip?

IT IS DONE! The monster is alive I tell you! ALIVE!

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You missed a spot.
Ha Ha. Seriously, It looks really good.

I always "stud" bolt holes in aluminum. Years ago I fought a thermostat leak in a brand new performer and had to Helicoil the threads after several rounds of torquing.
That is an amazing idea. A few years ago, I had a big problem with sealing the housing to a new Eddy Air Gap. I tried several gaskets with several types of sealant, and I tried filing the surfaces to flatten them. I finally bought a billet aluminum housing with an O ring. That did the trick. To be fair, I had bought a Chinesium chrome plated crap metal housing, and that may have been the problem. But I do really like your idea. When I was working on the lean and tightening down the bolts I was always afraid I would turn too hard and damage the threads in the aluminum.