328 cylinder head problem

I have an ex dubai 89 328 gts. It went in yesterday for full belt service including valve clearances etc. Had a phone call this morning from my mechanic saying a few other jobs need doing such as bent brake pipe, cam seal replacement and interior lights. However this afternoon things got serious! He rang again and said while the cams were out for the valve clearance job he noticed damage to the front cylinder head.He said a cam cap was damaged.I think he said it was one furthest from the oil feed. He wants me to go and look at it tommorrow to see for myself. He has worked on loads of 328's and never seen this before. I have the history and there is no mention of trouble in this area before-i have had it for 2 years and it has just hit 40,000 km. He says that i can try and find a second hand head or buy new if the current one is unable to be repaired by an engineer.At present i am hoping a repair is possible(he thinks it is), but will have to wait for the engineer to assess it.I don't want to go the second hand route because i will not know prior use or previous damage/repair.I did phone Ferrari uk for a price on a new one-£1350.00, which was better than i expected. My guy thinks he can get the head off without taking the engine out and a best case scenario is a repair to the current head whilst leaving the engine in situ.He has quoted about 18 hours labour, plus the cost of the service£1600 ish plus the repair to the head plus about £200 of new gaskets. Has anyone had a problem like this? Also can he get the front head off without removing the engine? What is the purpose of this cam cap? i have noticed nothing untoward while driving it.What damage could occur if it had gone un noticed and finally how does damage to it occur? Any response would be great as i have a few sleepless nights in front of me......thanks for your time.

 

I went to see the damage for myself the other day.On the front bank of cylinders on the far right side (as you look at the car) was the damaged cam cap.It didnt look much to me but my mechanic assured me it was! There was a far from mirror finish to both the cap and the head.The cam itself seemed slightly marked but he tells me it is made of harder material than both the head and cap so will polish out. Luckily he did have enough access to get the head off without engine removal so i am thankful for that! The head has had some work done at an engineers but the mech is taking it to another firm of engineers for a second opinion. I just hope i don't have to go through the new parts ordering ordeal! He has taken plenty of pictures and put them on disc for me so i will post when he is finished. Other than that i just want the car back and to drive the hell out of the thing!One interesting point he made was that how far out the valve clearances were. I was told that as long as they were quiet, the car didnt need them doing-mine was quiet and around 10-12 of them were well out so i am glad i had it done.By the way thanks for the advice.

 

Just heard my mech thinks the old head and cam cap will be ok.They have been polished and are a lot better than when i last saw them.He cannot guarantee it 100% though but says if i do 500-1000 miles and bring it back, he can whip the cam covers off and check the caps condition.As a precaution he is changing the thermostat on the water temperature and replacing the fan switch to guard against the engine getting too hot.Hope this is the last of it........