Yes replace the gaskets, you dont want to do the whole thing and be screwed because of a stupid oil leak. You will need a deep well 8 mm socket and a small stubby 8 mm open end wrench. I used some duplicolor 1200 degree paint on mine and it worked out great. I have heard that over time, excess heat can cause a clearcoat to turn yellowish....so i didnt clear coat mine. I did the stripes on my silver and the rest of it blue ( my car is atlantic blue). I think the same thing would work with yours...that is if you did silver stripes and red for the rest of the valve cover...that would look cool as hell. One word of warning...there are a few valve cover bolts that will be VERY difficult to get to when you go to put it back together.
The bolts that I am referring to are the ones on the passenger side, closest to the firewall (2 bolts) they are NOT easy to get to when you are putting everything back together...thats when the small 8 mm open end wrench comes in. Be careful you dont over torque anything...i did when reinstalling mine and I snapped a bolt, luckily I got it out okay. Anyway, PM me if you need any help...but expect the car to be out of commision for at least a full weekend, cause you want to do a few different coats of paint, and you dont want to rush anything.
