I'm not asking about the best of what's possible - just real world.

If you bought a 4.5 out of a '72 SL and the ONLY thing you knew about it was that it had 105,000 miles, what would you expect to see when you pulled the cam covers off? Scratches and wear on some lobes, or like new from one end to the other?

Are 90% of the 31-year-old engines with that mileage still pristine, or 50%, or 10% . . . ?

Are you LUCKY if one shows no wear (because of previous owner maintenance or whatever), or should you EXPECT it to have no wear because lack of proper maintenance is so rare as to be almost unheard of.

MDN