DIY - E65 Alpina B7 - Supercharger / intake manifold / valve cover / head removal

Issue:
Misfire on cylinder 1.

Diagnostics:
Nothing significant visually or functionally wrong with spark plug, coilpack, injector, nor valvetrain components when viewing with valve cover removed. Low compression found on cylinder 1.

Reason:
Chipped exhaust valve; chips out of valve allowed air to blow past the valve when closed, and thus not fully compress.

Time taken:
A long damn time (about 2 months of evenings here and there).

While TIS says to remove the world (i.e. the engine) do to this, I didn't have the space this time around. So, the basic process was: remove supercharger, intake manifold, valve cover, VANOS adjusters (timing gears), then remove the head with the exhaust manifold and catalytic converter still attached, hulk style. Removing the head this way was actually very manageable, and I had no trouble removing and reinstalling it - 4 times I think - once I figured out how to maneuver it properly to pass the catalytic converter past the starter; rotate the head toward the passenger side of the car, lift the front a little, and slide the head toward the front of the car about a foot, then up and out.

Since I had the head out and was taking it to a machine shop anyway (cleaning, evaluation of the other valves and valve seats), I decided to have them press in new valve guides and replace the valve stem seals while they had everything disassembled. Apparently the valve guides are brass or some soft metal and wear out, eventually causing the smoking issue where we end up replacing our valve stem seals. Additionally, this shop said that the valve guide issue is related largely to valve angle, and happens almost exclusively to the exhaust valves, which would kind of stand to reason, given they have the nearest to horizontal angle.

--> Here <-- are some pictures from my adventure. I will be labeling and putting descriptions in soon.

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