Keep Calm and Carry On

Spoke to The Machinist about my crack.  His conclusion: not important, keep going.

Also he suggested putting a stud in the hole with some thread-locker for added protection.

Next step, I need to get a set of push-rods and rocker arms so I can test assemble the rotating package.

From bottom-left clockwise to bottom-right: Engine valves, valve springs, rocker arm, push-rod, lifters, cam shaft.

And from there, I need to get a hold of some solid lifters, as mine are hydraulic and the spring-tension in the valve springs is too high to use hydraulic lifters in test fitting... that probably sounds confusing, let me see if I can find a video that explains what I mean. Yup here is one:

So... car people, what kind of rods/rockers do I get?