Well,
As far as the hardness testing, I don't know what that will prove...
What I mean is this... yes, I thought that the hardened steel dist. gear would be correct with an equally "hard" billet steel camshaft, and this is initially what they told me I was getting (billet steel), but later on I found out that the only "true" billet camshaft that Comp offers costs WAY more than the one that I ordered...
The ones they list as "billet" are not truly billet, but rather a cast blank that has been partially machined and then sent out for re-hardening. So, when these blank types receive their final lobe machining, there is still a bit of hardened steel left thus making it "harder" than an all-out "cast steel" camshaft. Yet, without knowing this fact up front, I had no way of telling if the tech guy knew what he was talking about or not...
After the fact, I NEVER would have used a machined steel dizzy gear on the camshaft that I ordered as the dizzy gear should NEVER be made of a harder material than the camshaft itself is made of... The dizzy gear "can" be equally hard (like cast dizzy gear on a cast camshaft) and be fine... The dizzy gear "can" be of a softer material than the camshaft (like a bronze/polymer dizzy gear on a cast/or even true billet steel camshaft) and be fine. But, the reverse should never be attempted, or you'll get what happened to you and me...
I seem to have been fortunate enough that the steel shavings that I had running through my motor never got far enough to do any bearing toasting (I checked all the con-rod and main bearings when I had it all apart). This I attribute to using a Canton no-bypass
oil filter... After this experience, I'll NEVER use anything but a no-bypass type of
oil filter in my Cobra...
Go ahead and get your camshaft material hardness tested by an independent/professional testing lab... Even though you hire them to do this testing doesn't mean that what they do for you will be "uncertified" in a court of law...
It might cost you though, and you might not get it back afterall...
Those darn "C.Y.A." clauses that Comp uses are fairly thorough....
Pat