We'll also need to talk a bit what happens after initial run-in (re-torque of head bolts, timing adjustment, etc).
A cover cut in half? That's interesting. Could have been that or it could have been used to show kids in a shop class what was happening, I suppose. A shop teacher when I was in high school had a valve cover cut this way so you could look in while it was running. He would bring it in and attach it to one side of his engine (a V8, it was).
