Looking through an old engine repair manual, I noticed that the v8s had the camshaft rotating in the same direction as the crankshaft (Which I knew), but the pushrod straight sixes had a camshaft which rotated in the opposite direction compared to the crankshaft (Surprise to me).
Is there a reason for this difference?
Did you consider the difference in rotational directoin caused by using gear drive as opposed to a chain?
Easy. In the V-8, the necessary distance needed to space the cam away from the crank and rods requires a chain drive to bridge the distance.
In an inline-six, the cam can be offset and thus driven by a much simpler, more accurate (and cheaper) pair of gears.
The actual direction is irrelevant, as long as the cam itself is properly “timed”. Some V-8’s can be retrofitted for the simpler two-gear drive, if the proper “reverse” cam is installed.