sludge in valve covers

[alniki]

Just got a low mileage stock 3.2 engine as a swap. All spark plugs looked pretty good and we removed the valve covers for a quick check. Everything looked just fine except all the intake rock arms were quite dry without an oil film on them as usually seen -- this engine had been sitting for about two years.

There was moderate amount of oil sludge along the inside low rims of the lower valve cover, still soft and not hardened. Looking through the four oil return tubes with proper illumination, the crankcase bottom looked very clean though I presumed there to be some sludge in the very bottom of the case as well. The wrench suggested that if there was enough sludge in the bottom it could be sucked by the oil pump and obstructs the oil passages.

Have you ever seen such sludge in your lower valve covers? Any comments or suggestion for removing the sludge in the case bottom before restarting? Thanks!