Camshaft discussion

[bucket]

I.Beg.To. Differ.

Lol, no need to beg, just tell us why.

 

[shiftpro]

Lol, no need to beg, just tell us why.

If we are talking retro roller rockers in a daily driver...
Flat tappet will out last them by years. The lifter bore just aren't accurate enough and if you want the kind
of lift that rollers are great for then the lifter bores aren't deep enough.
Plus we like our street engines to idle down nice and low and then the roller lifters starve for oil and the pin
bearings for the roller wheel goes south.
Retro rollers are good for street rods and point and go mudders and such, but just don't hold up
like flat tappets.
They are a lot of extra money for only a small gain in performance really... imo

 

[Rusty Nail]

Hear hear!
Good post.

 

[ChevroletChic3318]

If not broken in right it will go flat.

No you didn’t just seriously say that did u??

 

[Dougnsalem]

If we are talking retro roller rockers in a daily driver...
Flat tappet will out last them by years. The lifter bore just aren't accurate enough and if you want the kind
of lift that rollers are great for then the lifter bores aren't deep enough.
Plus we like our street engines to idle down nice and low and then the roller lifters starve for oil and the pin
bearings for the roller wheel goes south.
Retro rollers are good for street rods and point and go mudders and such, but just don't hold up
like flat tappets.
They are a lot of extra money for only a small gain in performance really... imo

Dude, you need to seriously give it up, and stop passing out bad information. ****, you don't even build your own engines, so STOP talking about **** that you have no clue about!

For people that are considering running a roller cam on the street, please see this post.....

Hey, thanks for spending the time on the reply. I'm always open to discussing subjects, even if opinions differ. That's how I've learned many new things. That's one of the reasons I'm here. I hadn't replied yet, just so I could take my time and read your post....

Anyways, first I do have a request. Please do not assume how I feel about something, or why I do something. Just ask me. This comment was border line smart ass, and I did not appreciate it.... (Now I am willing to admit that I may have just read it wrong too, if that is the case)

Going to retro rollers because you're afraid to break in a flat tappet means... you must not have heard of grooving the lifter bores.

I have never said why I prefer rollers. In over 30 years of building a lot of race, and stock OE engines, I have NEVER lost a lobe. Not once. I have even used a buddies 5 year old cam, out of his 12 second car- and tossed it in one of my motors with new lifters. Those lobes are still good, and the motor is sitting on my garage floor right now. I've just been lucky I guess. So, moving on...

Everyone here has the choice to build their rig how they see fit. I've done the 4x4 stuff. I gave it up because I kept breaking stuff. 82 K20. So yeah, been doing the " hot rod" thing. While a lot here are beefing up parts, my crewcab is hitting a diet. Back-half, Phantom wheels in the back.... This is what I'm aiming for....

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And I'll drive it on the street. You bet. People have different opinions on what a daily driver is, and what they can tolerate.

Well, propane? No. Roller cam, or not, I have no desire to run propane. Maybe it will make a difference to someone else-that's for them to decide.

The service every 3,000 miles? Not me. I will be in every 1,000 miles (if not sooner) to CHECK the valves. From my past experience, I've found the lash is only gonna move about .001" in that time. Check it more often so if you DO get a bigger lash, then you know you have issues. Something isn't right, and you catch it BEFORE things blow up on you. And really, how long does it take to run the valves when you have roller rockers on? Not long, especially if you have a bump switch to the starter. Still a daily driver??? It is for me.

I'm not quite sure why you mentioned the cam button. They aren't reliable? Exactly how so is that? I have never had any problems with them.

The cost? Yeah, its more expensive. To go faster, I have to lose weight (fiberglass, lighter parts, chop stuff off), or add power. IMHO, best bang for the buck-high flow heads. Best way to use that potential power sitting there-slam the valves open and closed as fast as possible. The room for power improvement here is huge, if your other components match.

Ok, now the easy part. The whole first half of the post was about the lifters, and needing a competent machinist. Cake.....

1. Dairy Farmers of Oregon sponsored a Top Fuel Funny car from 1990 to 2000. Owned by Wayne Parker and his kids Russ and Randy. They still run their auto electric repair shop a couple miles down the road from me. They raced in division 6. Randys wife races a Top Fuel Dragster, right now, and won the Northwest Nationals last August up in Washington.

2. "Bad Bob" has a 69 El Camino. Full race chassis, the works. Twenty years ago, twenty, his car ran 7s in the quarter mile. It also had lights, plates, and he drove it on the street. I myself saw this, and it was more than once. He"s been in magazines, but whatever.

3. 1998 Dougnsalem takes his STD bore 1970 high nickle LT block, and 292 angle plug heads in for work. You know, the ones you could only buy over the counter. Open checkbook- don't call me, just make it right. Machinist tells me what mechanical roller cam to get, after asking a bazillion questions. He ports the crap out of the heads, cuts spring pockets, sets springs, bores block, blah, blah, blah.......

The thing in common with the 3 above? Machinist Butch Stetson. No one around here was close to his knowledge and ability.

Question for you-do you think Butch was competent enough to know if I could run a roller cam on the street, or not? "Read this sentence over a few dozen times....". You tell me. Did he screw me by not sleeving the lifters bores? Were the bores all jacked up? Did he do all of this work, knowing my lifters would just blow up?

Last question- Are you talking from past experience that YOU had-have you ever tried to run a mechanical roller on the street, and had it fail, or are you just reading me info out of a book?

So, in the future , if someone asks me about roller cams, I am going to tell the to read your post, my post, and make their own decision. Sounds good don't you think?

If anyone doubts the possibility of running one on the street, then ask @Honky Kong jr . He is doing that right now with a BBC......

"Small gain in performance" @shiftpro . REALLY??? JESUS. You don't have a clue about rollers. Go find yourself a new engine builder, or learn how to do it yourself....

 

[Honky Kong jr]

No you didn’t just seriously say that did u??

Yup

 

[ChevroletChic3318]

Yup

GO SHOWER DAMMIT!!!

 

[ChevroletChic3318]

GO SHOWER DAMMIT!!!

Or else I’M going to Michigan!!!’

 

[Rusty Nail]

I'm unfollowing this thread now. Hood luck with your cam swap dude.
Maybe unicorn boy can help you...?

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[bucket]

If we are talking retro roller rockers in a daily driver...
Flat tappet will out last them by years. The lifter bore just aren't accurate enough and if you want the kind
of lift that rollers are great for then the lifter bores aren't deep enough.
Plus we like our street engines to idle down nice and low and then the roller lifters starve for oil and the pin
bearings for the roller wheel goes south.
Retro rollers are good for street rods and point and go mudders and such, but just don't hold up
like flat tappets.
They are a lot of extra money for only a small gain in performance really... imo

I feel that we will just have to disagree about this subject, lol. Personally, I don't see myself ever installing another flat tappet cam again.

 

[Blue Ox]

Well, this sure got interesting in a hurry.

 

[Honky Kong jr]

I'm unfollowing this thread now. Hood luck with your cam swap dude.
Maybe unicorn boy can help you...?

You must be registered for see images attach

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[Green79Scottsdale]

GO SHOWER DAMMIT!!!

Or else I’M going to Michigan!!!’

Yup, they just passed a bill stating we can take 3 showers a month! Can you believe that?! Before it was just 1 a month. You could squeeze in two if you showered with your mother...

 

[Derrick]

@Honky Kong jr and @Dougnsalem are right about roller cams being a lot better than flat tappet. The only thing is rollers cost a little more but they are worth it.

 

[82sbshortbed]

Need to change thread title to camshaft discussion. I started reading this thread because it was titled cam installation. Thinking it was about how you install a cam with some tips or tricks members have learned doing it. I'm not saying I don't like the thread or that someone needs to start a thread about how you installed your cam. It's just a misleading thread title. Imo. Because now it's about **** tards and unitards. Lol (which is funny) just saying.