Freddie is BACK ON THE ROAD!

A summary for those new to the forum...
I had a friend build a hopped up 200 to replace the tired old 170 that was in my '63 hardtop (Freddie). The Club helped me install the engine... in April 2010. I could not get the engine to run properly, but, again with help from the Club, we figured out what it's primary issue was (low vacuum) and got her running decently. Except... I could never get the lifter noise to go away.
Until...
Last June, I was driving her to a show in Bothell (about 10 miles from home) when all of a sudden there was a crescendo of bad noises coming from the engine with a corresponding degradation in performance. I was able to nurse it off into a parking lot and called AAA.
I took her (had her hauled...) to Long's Car Care Center in Woodinville, where it was discovered I had "wiped" the cam. Randy Long showed me some of the bits from the engine after it was torn down. One lifter had its bottom completely ground away! It was just a hollow tube! Because of all the shavings throughout the engine, it needed a complete rebuild.
So Freddie has been in Randy's shop since early July until just this morning, when I picked her up. She runs BETTER THAN EVER!!
Thanks to the PROFESSIONALS.

It has been an expensive lesson, but a lesson none the less!

The engine, as I said, is a 200. It has a Classic Inlines aluminum head with a 390 cfm Holley four-barrel, headers, and it had "way too much cam". We had used a Clay Smith 274-degree cam. It was way too much cam, for sure, but the destructive part was that it also had "way too much" valve spring! I had ordered springs with dampers from Classic Inlines: 180 pounds open, but was sent the hell-for-bent dual springs with 260 pounds open. Okay, I got more that I paid for... so we used 'em!
Simply put, I learned you really shouldn't put that much force on a flat-tappet cam!

This new build uses a more conservative 264-degree cam, and softer springs. She's now +.060 on the cylinder bores, with all new bearings, and a fresh balance. The other main thing I learned is that you cannot assume the pin holes at the front of the cam are properly located. They ended up needing to install the cam one tooth off to get it timed correctly! With an aftermarket cam, you can't just line up the marks and go!

So, now that she's back in the game, I'll try to be a little more active in the Club/Forum. It's been four years of hell, but the silver lining is starting to show....