[AZ986S]

Looks like that is the case. The other pieces to me look like they are probably either the spring retainer itself or the the hydraulic lifter. Either way, there is probably a bent valve and possibly more damage, so the heads are going to come off I'm sure, and, if the engine is salvageable, I'm probably going to upgrade to racing springs, retainers and keepers.

Here's what the keeper (1/2) looks like:



There's a post on Rennline that discusses the possible cause for this happening. It seems like the bottom line is that Over Reving causes the valves to "float" and impact the piston, especially with high RPM operation such as DE or racing. These are made of sintered powder metallurgy, and are brittle. The spring tends to soften up with age and this adds to the problem.

I'll be talking to one of the Phoenix area Porsche racing specialists (Patrick Motorsports) tomorrow and see what they say