I just bought a beautiful mess... care to express an opinion?

[Jamesp]

This is looking a whole lot like a broken valve spring. To remove a broken valve spring without removing the head (and man do you want to avoid removing the head!) The idea is to use compressed air in the cylinder to hold the valve with the broken valve spring closed so you can put the new spring and keepers on the other end. As you have the engine locked at TDC (make sure it is TDC and not one of the other holes in the crank pulley) the valve train is unloaded and all of the valves should be closed. You'll need a special hose with one end a standard air compressor QD and the other a spark plug thread - I borrowed one once that looked home made - the best kind of tool. Pressurize the cylinder as high as you can and the valve will stick closed. Now you can replace the broken parts without further dis-assembly.

Do check with your bore scope to be absolutely sure there was not valve piston contact. If you can not determine 100% that they never touched, my advice would be to drop the head and replace the valve. If they touched, even a little, the valve is bent, and it will break and drop into the cylinder at the most inconvenient time.

Best of luck! looks like you'll be on the road in no time!

[Jake Raby]

With the M96 engine a valve can bend from bounce, not just piston contact.

You must also ensure that the seat wasn't damaged from the valve bouncing off it. In engine repair and assembly one must never assume anything and quantify everything.

If not, the issue will find you.