I just thought I'd ad that when we built my engine, I purchased several sets of guide plates for the push rods, none of which fit correctly and caused fit/rub problems. Eventually, after speaking with a few pro builders, I came to the conclusion that the right way to do this is to cut the guide plates in half, position them at the correct locations, then tig them back together when bolted in place. That's what I did, and apparently is pretty common.
I'm really glad to hear of such great success on a hydraulic roller setup. I'm very much in love with the 385 series Ford, and after having built my engine, I really rather would have gone hydraulic if it were not for the opinions offered by several of the folks on 460ford.com. I don't have much reason to rev beyond 6K...my eyes were bigger than my stomach in more ways than one during my build. I installed lifter bushings in all 16 locations on my engine to restrict top end oiling and now can no longer consider the hydraulic option; the oiling orifices are too small. I'll be upgrading to the new Isky solid lifters this winter (the ones without needle bearings), to eliminate that possible failure mode in my mostly street application. Having all the little needles fall out and go through the motor is a very not good mode.
The cush of a hydraulic setup, with the roller on the end to eliminate the worry about cam break-in or wiping a lobe with these new
oil formulations is a great combo if you can get around the "apparent" geometry worries. Do your own research, I simply trusted the opinions of these guys...that doesn't necessarily mean that it can't be done. With 20K miles on the clock without incident or abnormal wear, I think it's pretty clear it can be done! If my engine lives 20K miles, I'll be ecstatic...so I consider that kind of success very significant indeed.
Byron