Cheers Cutz! The info was very handy, thanks!
So unfortunately there may be some more issues. I was tidying up the car, checking the oil levels etc and found there was some slight sludgy poo on the underside of the filler cap...
I have never experienced this problem before so any thoughts on this are appreciated:
I am 99% sure the headgasket is fine.
The water pump housing channels the water flow into the engine but also there is a crank ventilation passage to a breather, these are sealed off by a rubber o-ring. There is a possibility that the o-ring could not have sealed correctly when I fitted the pump housing back on.
My last thought is it could merely be condensation. When the engine wasn't being worked on it was covered over with clean rags but moisture could still circulate, it was reasonably cold the last couple of months. So now since the engine has been running could it be that the moisture inside the engine has evaporated and condensed on the rocker cover?
I drained the oil and could only see one tiny bit of cream... Would it be safe to run the engine after cleaning the rocker cover, remove any sludgy bits I can see in the head & then flush the engine through with a few oil changes?
Pictures below:
And my last question is what colour do you think I should redo the rocker cover? Considering I have a black and silver theme I was thinking of getting it powdercoated textured matt black along with the spark plug cover, it should compliment the dip stock and oil filler cap nicely, what do you guys reckon?