I was going to say to goop the end pieces first but I don’t remember which goes first (I think the rails go first, now!) but when you test fit, you’ll see which goes first, it will be obvious. Just make sure you goop everything, especially the corners where the rails meet the cork end pieces. I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you!
JB says that with the cams running in a “puddle” of oil, that ZDDP is not critical as it is for splash lubed cams. I think that makes sense, still it doesn’t hurt to be over cautious.
I was discussing the second point with a buddy of mine who is a lubrication scientist (I know, arguing from authority, right, but this guy has a few patents for additives to basestocks for a major petrochemical company...so I tend to listen...name not important) and his opinion, based on some of the work he's done is that in the 'hydrodynamic' lubrication arena (think of the crank or cam journals, where the rotating mass is rotating in a pressurized cushion, as you will, of the oil), friction additives such as ZDDP contribute little (except at the moment of start where there is no oil pressure and the rotation is being lubed by residual oil for a second until the pressure builds up) to the effectiveness, but where you have actual possibility of metal to metal contact (boundary layer lubrication) as in cam lobes, cylinder walls, valve stems, etc, that in older metallurgy engines, *some* sacrificial lube additives (ZDDP among them, even TCP Tricresyl Phosphate) can be beneficial.
Admittedly, in our low-usage, limited mileage engines (discounting the folks who are still and yet racing...but thinking that the mills in the rear are vastly different than what Harry Mundy originally designed), the rate of wear because of the lack of ZDDP or other contemporary additives is less apparent over time, but it's still happening. Hence folks like Brad Penn, Castrol, and others have come out with oils for 'classic' engines.
More damaging than using an SN or SP rated oil (ours were built during the time when SE was considered current) is NOT driving the darn things to get up to temperature and boil off the water and other products of combustion that are a result of blow-by (there is always some...) and fuel contamination that always mixes in the oil. THAT ruins more engines than mileage. Seals dry out (there are seal conditioners in oil), flash rust forms on exposed surfaces (the parts of the cam that are not resting in that oil puddle on top of the tappets), and water condenses on the crankcase...not using may be keeping the odometer low...but it's really not doing the engine any favors.
Lubrication science is a fascinating subject; that bottle of liquid we pour into the filler has a big job to do besides just making things slick...and specific additives are used to allow it to do the multiple jobs we require. When I worked for a petro company, it was fascinating to sit at the table in the cafeteria and just listen to the scientists talk about their research every day...me, a lowly IT network wonk...but they patiently answered my elementary questions without rancor...
Sorry to go all pedant...an on-going religious war when it comes to gear (petrol) heads when 2 or 3 get together. My feeling is use the best you can find that matches the mechanical technology it's being used for, run the damn things up to temperature whenever you can, and change it regularly. Heck, even my airplane gets an oil and filter change every 25 hours, which translates to 3000 miles roughly. But then the consequences of mechanical issues at 5000' are a bit different, no?
