Ok I know 88 was supposedly the first year for the roller cam but how can I find out for sure my car is?

 

open her up

 

If thats the original engine then you have a roller cam.

 

And if it isn't original, pull the intake manifold and look at the lifters. If you have access to a cool small camera then remove the dissy and look through the whole for the lifter "spider" .

 

its the original motor for sure...ive had the intake off didnt really know what the hell i was looking for but....i was just wondering because i could get a hydraulic cam for so much cheaper than a roller

 

If it is original then you have a roller cam. If you arent convinced then DO NOT pull the intake . Jusy pill one valve cover and lossen one roker are and remover the pushod. Measure it or compare it to a flat tappet SBC pushrod , the ones for roller cmas are short than the one for flat tappets.

 

That's a better idea so long as you've got a standard hydralic pushrod on hand, even if you didn't, just measure it.
If you are going mild enough, a standard cam is fine for performance. It's when you want to squeeze every last bit out of the motor that a roller cam comes into play. I'd love to have a roller cam but my motor didn't come with one and it's working fine without it. Like you said, roller cams are expensive and where I'm at I wouldn't really benifit enough to justify dumping at least $300 into a roller cam swap.

 

87 was the first year.