Interesting thread. In my opinion I agree completely with your desire to use a high ZDDP oil.
The flat tappet cam in this engine has a 1.73 valve vs cam lift rocker arm ratio, requiring ZDDP for the rocker fulcrum, pushrod ends and the cam/lifter connection. In addition, when the oil is cold and sticky, you need over 800 rpm of cold idle speed to get the oil onto the cam. When warm the crankshaft and camshaft live in a cloud of oil mist. My point being that even if the engine will idle fine cold at 500 rpm, don't do it.
Next the crank, rod and cam bearings live on an oil wedge due to there circular motion and load. Only overly thin or lack of oil will hurt them.
And finally, the piston rings depend mainly on the oil film strength, maybe a little on the ZDDP.
Horror stories about the 1970's Chevy Big Block problems were true but based on the 454 which has a larger bore. The cylinder walls would pull inward from 0.002 to 0.006" after tightening the head bolts. That why torque plate honing is used on some engines. Also, they had loose valve guides on new engines possibly due to assembling them dry. You will likely due just fine with minimal oil consumption.
As a final thought, use the best oil filter that you can get, maybe Fram Ultra, or PureOne. If the cam goes south, then the oil filter is the only thing saving the rest of the engine. The later engines have factory roller cams for the above reason.