Got the engine all put back together and she runs. I did the break in for the cam even though you really don’t need to with a hydraulic roller, but what harm could it do.
75 psi oil pressure at 2200rpm consistently, no weird noises, and no forbidden glitter in the oil after the first drain. Surprisingly high idle vacuum, 23 inches or so at 700rpm, seems a bit high to me.
I have not moved the truck yet, I ran it for about 20 min for the cam, changed the oil, and let it idle to do a walk around. There is still quite a bit of valve clatter, it’s symmetrical side to side so it doesn’t sound like an exhaust leak and it’s rhythmic it’s not random. I do have the Hughes 5007 lifters which I hear are often louder on a fresh build and will quiet down over time, and will be louder than stock style. They want a bit more preload than stock, I measured 6.81” zero lash and put in 6.9” pushrods, which is in the range they recommend for iron block iron head magnums.
This new cam idles very cleanly too. There is a bit of a lope, but it’s still very tame. I’ll post a video here. And ignore the belt squeal in the background lol, belt got soaked in coolant and sounds like a dying pig.