We do plan on keeping the car for some time. My wife just loves it. 8 years ago I bought her an '85 XJ-6 and I've got that car to as close to the pinnacle of maintenance perfection as could be expected. We replaced the head, entire a/c system, all rubber firewall forward, rebuilt front and rear suspension, rear brakes, stainless steel exhaust, chrome Jaguar wheels with new rubber, and on and on and on! It's too nice to drive now and we don't dare drive it on a salty road here in Ohio. I'm selling it in the spring and the 300e is it's replacement. I just love the galvanized steel on the MB!!! We've got a '67 TR-4, '76 GMC pickup and a '97 VW Cabrio in the garage too.

I'm leaning toward the new parts but the compressions on the engine are so good that the valve seats must be darn good so all the work for replacing the head just seems like overkill. Also, it seems that most MB rebuilt heads come WITHOUT the cam and rockers!!! So I'd be buying them anyway.

I'm just wondering if anyone else has had similar problems with the "soft" chromed cam and rockers or has someone actually performed this "improvement" and has some tips to share.

Thanks as always for ALL opinions!

Bob