I really appreciate all the good advice and information thank you guys. I was relieved that the first suggestions were budget friendly hydraulic flat tappet (the 068 Melling SPC-7 camshaft.) I know there are hundreds of thousands of cars with millions of miles with that technology so I'm not afraid to try them again.
I do like roller rocker technology for all the above mentioned reasons and I'd love to hear more real life experiences converting Pontiacs to rollers. Are you happy with the conversion? is the valvetrain noise excessive? Do you still like your idle exhaust note? ( I installed a roller cam crate SBC in my '58 pick up. 400 hp on their dyno, humms like a sewing machine. No personality, I miss the lopey idle!)
For Nitrided cams, do the lifters have to be Nitrided as well? Has anyone done this? Formulajones, who makes a lifter with the direct lube option? My wife's tiny MG motor has an aftermarket rifle drilled, cross drilled camshaft that provides lube to the lifters via the cam lobes. Not factory at all but it makes me sleep better.
Going back to why this may have happened, I have a windage tray on this motor. Do I need it? Does it limit the oil splash that I hear lubricates the camshaft? And I also don't have the "drippers" (?) that bolt on the head and sit over the rocker arms. I have factory chrome 1964 valve covers (with a spacer to clear the rockers) Could that have led to the failure?
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