And exhaust side lifts are higher in split pattern cams....which I am assuming it is.
Dang... that is quite a collection of bent parts. Sorry to see that, but you are not alone in such 'set-backs' so don't feel bad... the only people who never make mistakes are the ones who aren't doing anything.
Yes, for sure check those valves; the amount of bending in the stems to effect valve seal is so slight as to not be readily visible to the eye. And the pushrods are reeealy bent; there has been a lot of interference.
To YR's point, did you ever find anything about the cam's timing? And what lift do you have in that cam? It is gonna be hard to put the valves into the pistons with the typical 318 pistons so far down in the hole.
If it not just a cam timing issue being waay off.... to salvage this and since it is not high performance and is a low $$ attempt, I personally would think about a field cut of an eyebrow into each piston in situ with a Dremel. You'll get a lot more piston to valve clearance that way than with a head gasket. A .060" depth would be < 1 cc .... and you know exactly where to put it now. The bottom of the eyebrow should be rounded to avoid a stress riser. It would not be hard to seal up the edges of bores with clay or other goop to keep things clean. I bet someone has similar pistons handy to check for the thickness of the top... 3/16" to 1/4" thickness is pretty typical.
But this type of trick has a lot to do with confidence and tool use skills... so consider it with caution. (I've done such tricks in the past and have always gotten away with it....YMMV.)
