Straightening a bent one is simply not an option.
I disagree. Ive bent several and straightened them just fine. Unless your building a high horsepower engine, even a little quirk in a pushrod shouldnt drastically effect these engines. I imagine Im not the only one in history to do this either. Lay them on an extremely flat surface and give them a roll. Watch where the wobble is and correct it, these engines arent rocket science.
1951purney, the pushrod will stick in the lifter just because of the viscosity of the oil. Give it a little shake and the lifter will drop right off.
Another thing, when I went through the gas lines in my COE I was amazed as the lines were about 95% plugged with the black tarry goo that gas turns into after years. I replaced the lines, there was no way I could have cleaned that gunk out, and it will dissolve with the new gas running through the lines and stick your valves. This happened repeatedly the first time I ran the 248, and like I said, I broke 4 rocker arms and bent several pushrods (all of which were straightened and reused).
Good luck! Jeff
