Refresh on a 302: Any Advice or build secrets?

[Dangerous Doug]

blykins: I know you're trying to be helpful, but you're being insulting. Shade-tree mechanic? Indeed. Please stop.

Thanks for the tips, guys. I have several of the books mentioned and have been reading them for quite a while. I always notice little things get missed in the common lingo: I've seen "zero lash" several times in print and hadn't had a chance to discuss it with anyone. Looking it up on Wikipedia didn't seem like a good idea, so I asked here.

I have a lot of options in terms of how I approach this. Admittedly, I have a few things I need to check out before I do anything, but have been quite busy and haven't even had a chance to climb back under my Cobra. If everything checks out, I won't mess with it and I may be sporting quad Webers as the the days get warmer and longer.

That being said: So, let's say I don't change the oil pump to an HV. I thought if I had a remote oil filter I would need to use an HV pump. Not so? Also, if I change out the pump shaft to one that won't have me dreading having to pull my distributor out, is there any issue (removal rotation?) that will cause the distributor rotor to become misaligned? When I put my "Armando" oil pan on, I had the engine on a stand to put on the new pickup, and didn't mess with the pump or shaft. Anything I need to be aware of if I replace the oil pump shaft?

DD

PS For those of you that think I'm asking stupid questions: I am. But if you follow this tread I bet you'll learn something from your Cobra-brethren.