Are you sure you have the rod bearing caps on the right way? If you get them reversed, they will be slightly
offset and will bind up. I did this on my first engine overhaul (a 1949 Cushman motor scooter, about 1954)
and wiped out my new rod bearings. Both the rod and the cap should be marked. Make sure the marks are on the same side.
--
George Downs, Bartlesville, Heart of the USA!

First of all you need to get your terms straight. You are speaking of the crankshaft, not the camshaft.
I am hoping you kept the old parts, and if so compare the rod bearings you were supplied to the old ones. It's possible you have an undersize set - and it does NOT matter what the box says. It's whether the parts fit or not, and there can be no issues with the rotating assembly at all. It is a simple problem of the replacement bearings, nothing more, as long as the rod big ends were not resized, or the crankshaft re-ground.
I would also warn you that ringing these is engines is difficult. The piston to cylinder wall clearances and allowable tolerances are VERY tight, compared to the B21-23 engines, and if more than about .003 inch is present, the pistons will slap when cold.
When all is well the engine should turn smoothly with about 10-20 foot pounds of torque, and be slightly stiffer to turn as the pistons reach TDC and easiest when half-way through the stroke. This variation is normal, but no "binding" should be felt at all.

I am assuming that when you say cam shaft, you mean crank shaft, the one the connecting rods hook to. If this is correct, you need to plasti-gauge the con rod bearings to the the crank to ensure proper clearance. You must validate the con (connecting) rod bearing to crank clearance, if they are too tight they will burn up if the starter can even turn it over.

If the plasti-gauge shows that the clearance is too tight, you have two options, the first is to get the proper sized bearings. If that is not possible that means you have an odd-ball sized crank (rare) and need to go with option 2 which means having the crank turned.

If the plasti-gauge shows proper clearance with the caps fully torqued, keep on building! One more note on the crank, check the thrust bearing clearances, if they are too loose, the crank can move front to back in the block and cause the connecting rod bearings to bind up.

jorrell
--
92 245 250K miles, IPD'd to the hilt, 06 XC70, 00 Eclipse custom Turbo setup...currently taking names and kicking reputations!

Did you have any crank work done?
Do you have good measuring devices at hand?
You could see how it turns with the old bearings in place if all were kept in order and no slag or debris are present.
There is no room for error when it comes to internal engine work,although if you can't make it work you might try some well oiled pigs ears instead of bearing shells.
peace