I recently removed the vent pipe from the valve cover to the air cleaner.. passenger side of my stock 305 lg4... I was alarmed to find a LOT of grime and dirt just under the hole in the valve cover. Please see picture for a better explanation.
The area just below this hole appears to be "boxed off" from the valves underneath, thankfully.
. Is this normal? I'm pretty sure my PCv and vacuum system are in good shape, without leaks. I can probably suck out this dirt with a small vacuum, or should I take the valve covers off and give it a thorough cleaning?

Thanks for helping me out with a novice question.

 

Yes it is normal.

The "box" is the baffle around the PCV valve, that keeps it from sucking in oil, while allowing it to suck in all the nasty vapors that would otherwise accumulate in your oil and turn it into a stinking useless mess in FAR fewer miles than the oil itself is capable of working. All of the nastiest funk that finds its way into the crankcase - partially burned fuel, water vapor, burnt oil, ... whatever, finds its way there. That stuff would contaminate the oil rapidly if not removed, and is one of the reasons for the old 3000 mile change interval recommendation, Back in the day, oil would come out after even that few miles, SO DISGUSTING that you'd wish you'd changed it 1000 miles (or more) earlier. In spite of the fact that an oil change was about a quarter of a week's paycheck.

So yeah, it's gross and all that, but not a sign of malfunction or anything, that I can see. Looks kinda like it's just been doing its job for a real long time.

 

What Sofa said......

And, it looks like that rubber bushing has seen it's better days, see how it's split about halfway down? It looks to be in danger of breaking in two and dropping bits of itself down into the valve cover.

"Deferred maintenance" as it were .

 

Thank you for the quick and definitive responses. I really appreciate it. I am replacing the grommet in the valve cover, but again thanks for pointing it out. You guys are truly awesome!