Yesterday, the valve springs got changed out. I used the compressed-air method, along with the valve spring installation tool available from Cotton's. The springs used are the Comp Cams 980s.
The spring job went pretty quick once I learned to "tap" the top of each retainer with a socket (in my case, the spark plug socket) and a brass hammer. This loosens up the retainers/valves/valve locks and makes the removal part simple. I used one of those telescoping magnets to make sure I didn't lose the locks into the engine.
During reassembly, I found a little coolant in the passenger side head. I also saw some external coolant weepage throughout the winter, coming from (seemingly) the front of the engine.
At first I was concerned about a blown head gasket, but the car was running well prior to it being parked in the fall. Plus, all the spark plugs were PERFECT in color, and none showed any evidence of coolant.
I narrowed it down to the head stud located farthest forward on the head. After doing some reading, I see that sealing head studs can be an issue, so I drained the coolant, removed the stud, cleaned the stud/hole, and re-sealed with silicone. I then retorqued the stud, and we'll see how it holds.
Here's a couple images of the spring replacement -
