[screamingchief]

I don't know what kind of heads are on the car, but I don't think the rods are rubbing the heads because they would have broken by now.

With the comp magnum 280 and 1.65 rockers,I can pretty safely assure you the pushrods are rubbing if the intake pushrod slots were'nt opened up for the 1.65 rockers.

Some heads the exhaust side slots clear fine without mods,while other heads may need both sides done to clear.

Dont count on them breaking if they're rubbing,not right away,they can remain intact and not break if they're only rubbing slightly,but this will also affect the rocker arm geometry and valvetrain function,as well as being a good possibillity for loosing lobes if one is not absolutely certain there is adequate clearance for the pushrods.

We used to watson guide to adjust the valves

Sorry,but that wont work with the Rhoads lifters,the Rhoads lifters have a very specific adjustment method,and it needs to be followed for those lifters to function properly.

Simple solution is to follow the instructions that come with the Rhoads lifters describing the proper adjustment method for those lifters,not a manual which is for OE hardware and does not translate to aftermarket hardware much at all.

My feelings at this point say you may be hanging the valves open due to improper valvetrain adjustment and that is possibly aggravated by mechanical intereference issues from the 1.65 rockers,and those things are causing these driveabillity issues most likely.

What pushrods were used?
Was the rocker geometry checked?

So safe to say at this point that the cam was'nt degreed when installed,we know that the timing chain set is a "cloyes" item,though we have no idea which one (there are like three or four different cloyes T/C sets IIRC) specifically,still no mention of what valve springs are being used with this cam,and it seems unlikely that the pushrod slots were opened up for the 1.65 rockers,the Rhoads lifters were'nt adjusted per their instructions,and we have no idea what the compression ratio is because we have no idea what heads are on this engine,but we know it has a Edelbrock 750 carb,and a proform HEI.

I would advise going back to square one,taking some more time and making sure everything is together right before any further efforts are made,and hope that something did'nt get mortally wounded by this initial attempt at doing this cam install.

And I have'nt even asked what the rest of the drivetrain consists of yet.

Dont kill the messenger,he's only trying to help...