Got my valve covers back from the powder coater. Chris at Enigma Coatings did a bang up job collor matching off a photo!

Still waiting on heads to get back from machine shop

 

Here is his web page. Enigma Coatings Enigma Coatings | Custom Powder Coating & Ceramic Coating in the Austin area

 

Cleaning with 150 grit, Brillo pads, and wd40. I never knew how well wd40 cleans. Just as good as brake clean







Kit from Atlantic British. Left overs will be for sale (throttle body gaskets etc<br/>

 

Broken valve springs aren't unheard of, particularly with age and mileage. Glad you found a smoking gun.

By the way, I painted my valve covers the same color about 6 months ago. I was sick of seeing the grease-stained aluminum.

 

All done and she's running better than she did when I bought her 40k ago. Thank you for everyone's help, Tom Vissel (lr master tech) and Chris Holland from enigma coatings! Next I'm going to re route vacuum lines etc to try and clean up this engine bay