The FSM in 05-2190 states not to reuse the old M8 x 70mm cam tower bolts but to use the updated in 1990 M8 x 73mm bolts to help keep them from stripping. I cant find a part number and I also cant find anyone who sells them either?
Any ideas?

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'88 300ce black/gray
'88 300e 3.0 5 Speed! gray/gray

They were revised to get as much threaded length as possible. If you can't find them anywhere on the net you might pull them from a junkyard (1990+ M103)
Maybe an M104 uses the same?
If that doesn't pan out, I guess you could pay the MB dealer.

I would agree to using the longer bolts if you can, if your re-installing a cam (as opposed to one rocker set) take them down like a half turn at a time, rotating around all of them starting from the center ones and jumping back and forth to either side, opposite bolts, to the outermost pairs and back to the center again.

But, you probably already knew that.

How do you start to tighten down the caps that are currently being acted on by the cam lobes?

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'88 300ce black/gray
'88 300e 3.0 5 Speed! gray/gray

I don't recall having any special circumstances like that when I put my cam back in. As far as I recall all the bolts were lable to get a few threads of a bite. Given the reputation for the towers to strip, I then turned them down as gingerly as possible (about a half turn at a time, maybe less for the first two or so rounds).
Could there be a cam position that has no valves at max or near max extension?

at any one point of the cams rotation there will be at least one set of rockers that will be under a load from the cam and thus acting on the valve springs. I dont think I want to torque them down when they arnt on the base circles.

__________________
'88 300ce black/gray
'88 300e 3.0 5 Speed! gray/gray

For reference here is the new part number for this bolt, n914007008043.

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'88 300ce black/gray
'88 300e 3.0 5 Speed! gray/gray