Painted the valve covers because I needed a distraction. Gray, as the general consensus is the V8's were painted gray in '61. And the interior will be gray (which -is- the '61 colour).
I mistakenly ordered Gen3 rings for my Gen3 block. Turned out the engine had Gen4 guts inside. I found out my mistake after gapping the first rings and discovering they didn't fit the pistons.
So I ordered a new set of Gen4 rings, and gapped them 0.026/0.028" (should be safe for upwards of 22psi boost or so) and installed 'em!