The following is not a comparison to this very informative thread however it does provide some perspective.

The fellow I work with is very good about finding "normal" issues and making the oddball parts I bring him fit together (bargain basement blem cranks, Edelbrock Victors, rocker spacers) and will often improve the design and serviceability of items for me. All of this ends up on the bill as R&D time. Some people have cried foul on that and I'm okay with it.

When we started putting my engine together with the pile of parts I had amassed he was looking at all of this untried and unproven stuff shaking his head. In his mind I was running a fool's errand trying out all of this, in his works "hokey sh%t" instead of getting a set of -1's and calling T&D or whomever (ala dvw's posts). Tried and true, hole in one type of project with the -1's vs. the headaches and 3 million piece valve train puzzle. I could see his reasoning and truthfully he was right. By making the decision to use "non-standard" parts I essentially agreed to pay for any R&D time that went into making my "junk" work. My junk ended up being a good combo just not in his comfort zone. To him it was like taking the backroads to work instead of the freeway. Time is money after all.

In my case I wasn't trying to step over a dollar to save a dime, but on a mission of discovery. Many do try the cost savings route and only end up with problems like these heads have. It's often better to find someone that is running what you are after and find out who built it. Otherwise be prepared to play the guinea pig.

And you sure as hell don't want you bonnet to catch fire lol

ps the next trip to engine shop I walked in the door with a very well used set of -1's and 1.7 Jesels : D Careful what you wish on yourself I told him lol