Pre-oiling lifters is OK, but not really necessary. As soon as oil pressure gets to the lifters down that big oil gallery, the lifters will fill in a matter of a minute or two. Just assemble the cam/lifter combination with plenty of extreme pressure lube like Melling engine assembly lube, or Lubriplate white lithium grease on the cam lobes and lifter bottoms. If the cam & lifters are new, run the engine at a fast idle, maybe 1,500-2,000 RPM for about 20 minutes on the initial startup to let the cam and lifters establish a wear pattern. After that, NEVER put a lifter against any lobe other than the one it was run-in on. They need to stay matched for the life of the cam.
Jerry
