Yeah there is some surface rust. It was clean when I reinstalled it but I'm assuming it (the rust) was more or less just from sitting on the car for a few days before I tried to turn it over and/or from cleaning out the rocker cover with brake clean. There's also a bit of surface rust on the new headbolts too...
Never heard a knock between the valve/piston just a pop after it turned over maybe 3-4 times. I'm going to pull the TCC on my next day off and double check the timing then pull the head again to check the damage.
No I did not turn it by hand first. Got in a rush and ****ed that up...not the first time I've done a head job either and the first I forgot that key element. Just love that feeling of flushing $200 down the drain...
Would love to do a DOHC swap just don't have the time/money so figured this made the most economic sense.