You said the valves were shot but then you said there was a lot of carbon, perhaps preventing them from seating. Which was it? I'm curious as to why you didn't try to clean the valve seats and put new guides in. Seems like it would have been a lot cheaper.

Also, did you ever really try the Italian tune up. It is not unusual for it to take awhile to get carbon out from under the valve, but usually it gets blown out eventually.

And do you think this job was really worth it? First of all, someone here said the head was about $600. If that is the case, do you think it was worth it given you put in maybe 10 or 20 hours of labor?

If it would have been my car, I would have adjusted the valves and pushed it hard on the highway for several weeks. Then adjust the valves again. If it didn't start to run better by then, it would have been junk yard time.

240Joe