[glhs#116]

OK. Well, not to jinx anything or whatnot but I think this is the first time I've had what I would call a different result.

It's night time so not the best conditions for verifying if smoke comes out the back. But I decided after 20+ hours I'd put it back together. Even lashed the valves like an adult person doing them cylinder by cylinder. It settled down into a pretty smoke-free idle and I took it down the motorway to refill the tank (after all these failed test drives). I didn't really blast it at any point but it was a decent run of maybe twenty minutes including cruising at 70+ and some dips into the throttle. Not all of this was under street lights but I didn't see any smoke that I could be sure of. Back in the garage it was way less smokey. I want to say there was a thin blue haze hanging around after a few blips but I'm willing to chalk that up to "still burning stuff off". Let it idle for some time and apart from being pig rich smelling it seems pretty non-smokey.

So, it needs a daytime drive for confirmation but I've definitely improved things. I think this probably proves that those rocker studs never sealed up with the old sealant or RTV. I figure if I do still have some small amount of oil getting in the plugs will tell me where and I can just address that particular rocker stud or two. I feel pretty good at this point that the issue is there. I'm really hoping, though, that this is it done.

Thanks for all the help, everyone! I'll report back after a daytime run.

Sam