The old mechanic suggested using solids on a hydraulic cam as a repair for an engine allready in use,usually one with many miles on it.It was never his intention to use this approach with a new cam or on a rebuild.
235's have very mild cam lift and duration,less than 60 lbs of spring pressure on a seated valve,nothing at all in common with high reving race engines.You can get away stuff that wouldn't last 10 minutes on higher output engine.And the statement from the guy above proves it.I'm far from a professional mechanic,but running a bunch of these engine over the years has taught me a few things about them.
For your information,235 cams have small casting lumps on the rear of the cam between the 3rd and 2nd to the rearmost cam lobes,2 or 4 raised "lumps" identify it as a hydraulic cam,1 or 3 lumps,a mechanical lifter cam.This is somthing often ignored by guys rebuilding these engines.I bet half the guys here got cams and lifters mixed up and don't know it,but the engine runs just fine except for maybe a complaint about slightly noisy valves despite proper adjustment.
The cam casting lumps can be seen from below if the oil pan is off.
