I spent some time today in the engine bay...
One thing led to another and I decided to pull the intake.... PHEW... she's pretty grunged up!
Lots of black carbon like material in the intake ports... and a nice thick layer of gunk inside the top of the block...
I figured its not worth risking things trying to get the motor running as-is... so i pulled the heads...
Looks like a nice solid block... not a ton of wear in the cylinders...and no noticable cracks in the typical places...