[christianchevell]

Words of wisdom from a old motorhead.... Our engine maybe not your new one is designed for 5w30 oil, Cams even a stock cam could benefit yes even a roller with a break in period. Always use the best oil you can find with good ZDDP, I use Driven racing BR30 and double dumped before going to ls30 even just with a cam..one round for the break in and dyno, one round for 500 miles to establish a good break in, and I also did it when I got a new engine and pulled my TSP cam and after over 10k on my 235/239 which had .639.623 lift and 675 springs it was perfect for a standard bump stick not some 8620 core that was available back then.

' You most likely could use the stock engine .... fresh bearings maybe, but you are trying to see which came first and its either the chicken or the egg or a combination. Your to throwing money at it and now you might as well go with better than stock lifters and since your going with the twisted wedge you angle of the dangle is changed too so your going to scratch your head and have to call the makers to figure out what length of pushrod and preload you need even measuring.

You bought a Calloway which like other aftermarket slap a blower and some embroidery on it does not mean they did a good job insuring the longevity of the engine. Lack of the proper sheer on the oil would yes also like the wrong grade be able to slide the roller to death which is from your pic most likely the deal. The baskets have to be changed with a cam to; too help align the lifters also so they do not turn if installing a cam in a engine that has more than a few miles on, ( I write this to benefit others doing a cam swap). So your stock engine from the pics....someone could fix that or you may want to hang onto it.

Your getting a iron block is actually a good thing though heavier as if it lasts long enough you could bore it compared to a stock block which can only be honed .020 over.

Making it much more re-buildable though you personally will have to check over time the torque of the bolts as aluminum heads etc...intakes etc..tend to walk the bolts out over time as they expand and contract at a different rate.... More than once I have made /or saved a bundle by just new head gaskets from people not knowing to tighten the heads over time. You most likely will be coming in with less effective compression ratio and better PTV clearance for a good cam, and I would have chose one for a stroker myself but had to cool off my wallet as more requires more and more. This lessor amount of compression well it allows you to turn up the boost more and hopefully your head gaskets...... which the Calloway job was most likely as I said..sticking a blower on it stock and some appearance stuff and doing nothing for the trans, suspension, or other badly needed mods to support the blower..... Stock springs would not support crap so unless you changed it out any good shop would have trashed the stock springs.

Many things can contribute to the damage of the cam/lifter....a defective lifter, a badly cured in the oven stock cam ..even seen many stock ones fail, using the wrong oil for more pressure but starving the top end on start up causing massive wear, a lousy spring , no good break in of the cam or micro polish..... You have to be able to find form looking at all the other surfaces what you think did it. A stock roller lifter not having enough grip from using a too slick oil will not turn and simply glide itself to death making a flat spot on a roller or rollers and I have seen those over the years on here, the oil has to have a good sheer, the oil has to have enough ZDDP and not be worn out from racing and be changed at regular intervals and close intervals when racing.

A tiny kiss of the valve to the pistons top is no big deal its the damage to the bearings you want to look at when freshening up that fine short block for someone.....a bare ls3 block is 1300 ish area new. I spent 5 grand for my stroked forged short block, but don't plan on it living forever like a iron block just its internals. $2500 is about the average for a real good rotating assembly. And I got the best I could and someday may spray, or go small bore ls7 heads its just a matter of time and money...

Good Luck to you, I damn well know I would spend the money for a break in and break in oil..... I used two rounds of BR30, then 3k miles on VR30 all work as a conventional break in oil. You did ask about the rings on those pistons being good for boost.../the pistons too???? If you really want to turn it up everything matters.

You show one lifter not the cam and its tracking on all the lobes as a badly heated /broken in cam would show pitting on more than one lobe in the same area usually about 4 lobes of a bad area at least, if that helps you think which came first the chicken or the egg. And as you should know with our high lifts a stock spring is crap, and even racing springs need to be changed out over time or risk valve float or breakage... and the preload and oiling is critical and you need oiling worse with FI also.... and it does wearout the oil quicker also. There is a good tech article/bulletin I have shared over time about the need to break in a roller cam from driven racing oil.. They made the BR30 for joe gibbs sprint cup race cars that ate the lifters/cam at a rate of 1 in 10 on the engine stand breaking in compared to 1 in 40 with the break in oil. Todays oil is crap mostly for a old engine, lower ZDDP as it hurts the cats ..a damn shame old motor heads have to have a good oil or they watch their engine go to crap even just trying to break it in and cannot depend on just using a ZDDP additive as shown by the gas monkey guys with their Shelby hertz build on that 2 part show of theirs. You cannot depend on off the shelf motor oils when into performance in other words unless your mild...not wild. And maybe not even then when it comes to good old flat tappets.