Grandfather's 68 SS Camaro.

[JRC99]

Well, I finally yanked the intake. The cam is trashed Cylinder number 8s exhaust lobe is definitely round and all the others have pitting on them. I think I caught it before sending trash too far through the engine, so I guess the plan is to pull the cam, confirm the grind, get a new one (If it's COMP I'm going to avoid that and have Crower or Isky grind an exact duplicate of whatever's in it. My friend highly recommends either and I've been hearing far too many horror stories about Comp lately), and keep a very close eye on the oil when I get it running and follow the break in to a T.

[WILMASBOYL78]

While you may get away with a cam/lifter swap...a prudent approach would be to check all the internals for any possible issues. Pulling an engine isn't fun, but it is cheap insurance in the long run.

Double roller steel chain and gears are a must...you might also want to check valve train items [springs, keepers, retainers, seals].

Given the legacy of the car...not a good time for shortcuts.

-wilma

[Too Many Projects]

There has been plenty of metal shavings in the oil from all that damage. I'm on the "pull the engine" wagon and remove the pan and inspect all the bearings. If the crank isn't scored but there is shavings in the bearings, you can get away with just replacing them.
If the cam is an old school, long duration build, there are better grinds available now that will help the engine have more vacuum and the same or better power range than what is in there.

Sorry you have to deal with this. This problem has become all to common in the past several years and especially recently.
I have a 20 year old Comp 280H in my 496 that sounds cool but is a pain in the butt to drive on the street. I'm going to be looking at a hydraulic roller conversion for next year.