Yes, we were relieved to see those oil rings like that, Steve. Up to that point we hadn't really seen anything that looked like it was out of place or broken. The other thing is that the engine is FULL of ground up carbon pieces, I mean the oil is gritty. It looks like all that oil getting into the combustion chambers was forming carbon that was breaking off of the valves and being ground up by the pistons into chunks. The oil was also turning black after only a little while of driving.

I think if we install the rings correctly this time and have a good valve job (including guides) done on the new heads, we will be ok.

Don