Lifter problems????
Some cams are gound on a slightly smaller base circle. So he may be on to it. But truthfully, it could be a lot of stuff. The block could be "tall", the stock heads could be "thick", the gaskets may be thicker than factory..What ever..The result is, you needed special length, not unheard of to me. I'm more concerned witht eh lack of oil to the ends of the pushrod. That's noramlly splash fed from the top. The parts are rotating normally, because it wore it to a point, but it should be getting more oil. Are the rocker shafts on properly? are you getting plenty of oil up top?