This is a whole lot of valves.
View attachment 4088675
They all seem fine from the outside. No springs were any weaker than the rest, at least from what I could feel. Still I have the new ones so they'll get replaced.
I don't really like the look of some of the exhaust valve seats. I only looked closely at one head so far, but all but two of the seats had a strange surface marking that to me justifies doing some lapping. I can't see or feel anything I'd consider pitting but the appearance...
These are two of the worst on this head. I'll check the other head soon.
View attachment 4088676
View attachment 4088677
I'll get the other head on the bench today and give it a close look. Maybe clean the bottom of one valve and do a test lap to see what happens. Also see what I can do with the areas of gasket mating surface I don't love.. that'll probably determine whether I accept the delay that waiting on the machine shop would require.
@clrussell called it. I'm not sure they are necessary but it wasn't a large extra cost so I just ordered them. And if I screw something up they are reusable.
I do suspect installing the heads with them will be interesting. Typically they get installed into the block before the head is laid down, partly to ensure they all get installed to the correct depth and threads are clean, nothing is left on the gasket mating surface, etc. But I suspect getting the head back over them with the exhaust manifolds already on the heads will be impossible. For the passenger side that wouldn't be the end of the world.. I have that downpipe out and can fish the manifold up through the gap. But the driver side is a whole different thing. With the fuel and KDSS lines running along the frame rail the access to the bolts is severely restricted. Plus that downpipe is much more difficult (if not impossible in my driveway) to remove.. I'm pretty sure those bolts into the muffler assembly are completely seized based on the corrosion appearance, on top of not even being sure I can fish the downpipe out over the crossmember without a lift anyway.
So when I get everything cleaned up I'll explore my options.