56 was the first year for precision bearings and the neoprene rear main seal. So use the neoprene seal. As for the cam, send you original cam to Schneider Racing Cams in San Diego and they can regrind it from stock specs all the way to racing specs whatever you want. Why a regrind? Metallurgy. The original GM cams have excellent metallurgy and I think are better then a new cam if you can oven find one. New cam blanks have been near impossible to get for the last couple of years. Schneider is who I use for my 235 and 261 cam grinds.
Hydraulic lifters, find nos GM. Don’t mess around. The new lifters are terrible and have been for a good number of years now.
Skip the fiber gear. Use the aluminum cam gear steel
Crank gear set up. It’s the easier to set to find. Much more reliable.
I’m sure it might vary a bit, but do you happen to know the approximate cost of a Schneider re/grind?
