Bent up stuff

I'd just like to add that when the rocker arm returns to zero lift and pushes the retainer over far enough to dig into the aluminum rocker-arm like that,then it is also forcing the stem over into the side of the guide. If the valve hangs open at all, it will be impossible to set the valves correctly. If the valve hangs open far enough then the pushrod will have a chance to come out of the pocket. If it comes out far enough, it can fall out. But if it is just a little bit, then the next time the lobe comes up it will slap the pushrod back into action. This will be very noisy. It is also possible for this shock to transferred into the rocker arm and roller tips. The sideways force at the top of the guides may be enough to crack them. If the valves hang open far enough, the piston will kiss them, and that is an awful sound to hear at cranking speed. It's awful to hear, cuz your brain takes about one second to figure out that the sound is not supposed to be there, and another second to let go of the key. During these two seconds, at 400rpm, the engine has cranked over, 13 revolutions, and every single valve is done. And then comes the "oh-chit" moment.
But if you get the engine running with only a couple of valves hanging open, then it will certainly run rough.

Now as to the machinist not noticing coil-bind during the lashing procedure; Since the valve lash is set with the lifters on the base circle, if he sets the lash like I do,namely one cylinder atta time, then both lifters for the same cylinder will be in the base circle and neither valve will be open, so the coils will look normal.However, using this method, to set the next valve in the firing order requires the crank to be rotated exactly 90 degrees . During this time two other valves will pass through maximum lift, and if coil bind was to occur, THAT would certainly be felt during hand cranking.

And as to the engine running smooth.That cam has some pretty fast clearance ramps. It doesn't take much timing to take the lope right out of it. I myself have a similar cam, but a flat tappet. It also has very little lope with just 14*.