Read a tech bulletin years ago that said most old Ford small blocks had the valve specs written for cold settings from the factory, but everyone assumed hot because that's how the old guys did it. The exhaust valves on those 302s shrink as they heat up, so setting them hot leaves them too tight once everything cools down. Your cold gap should have a little extra room, like .022 on the exhaust for a stock cam, and that's where the ticking usually goes away. I switched to cold on my own 289 and the difference at idle was night and day, smoother and no more clatter.

and honestly this whole thing reminds me of how people talk about coffee beans or even audio gear. like once someone points out the difference you cant unsee it, suddenly every dark roast tastes burnt and every pair of headphones sounds muddy. same with your blacks, that 60/40/40/100 was probably fine for years but now your brain is locked onto that richer cyan mix and youll never go back. kinda wild how one picky client can just reset your whole baseline for what good looks like.