and think, I have children!

What are the differences between a hydraulic and a roller cam? I know how a hydraulic cam works but not what a roller cam is?

How much work to install a roller cam where a hydraulic cam used to be?

 

Have you seen hydrualic lifters? If so, just picture a rolling type of ball on the tip that comes into contact with the cam. This reduces friction, meaning more HP.

You can get away with higher lift cams using roller ones while maintaining drivability.

 

So there are no differences in the block? Just different lifters?

 

I'm sure there is, I was just pointing out the lifter part.

Putting a roller cam into a non roller block isn't cheap.

 

The hydraulic roller cams that came factory used different block setup for them. There are retro-fit roller lifters for non-roller blocks. Solid roller lifters can be used on a non-roller block.

 

To put a roller cam in a non rolller block, you have to buy the lifters that have the bars connecting every two lifters. They are the retro fit lifters, usually cost about $250 just for lifters. You will also need to install a cam button to keep the cam from walking forward as rollers tend to do. If possible it might be easier to just find a 87 & up block and use it. Those blocks have a retaining plate in the front of the block so you do not need a button and also have retainers on the lifters so they are about half of the price of retro fit lifters or many times you can reuse the stock lifters.

Tim

 

this is a pic of my roller block, you can see the metal "spider" in the lifter valley holding the figure 8 shaped hold downs around ever two lifters. my engine uses a hydraulic roller cam which is hydraulic lifters (as opposed to solid) and roller tips (as opposed to flat tappett). so you can have four different setups, hydraulic roller, hydraulic flat tappet, solid roller, solid flat tappett. the advantage to hydraulic is that you dont have to readjust your valve lash all the time but it cannot handle really high rpm's like a solid lifter. for a street car i'd stick to hydraulic. a roller cam will reduce friction significantly, resulting in i'd say 10-20hp over an identical flat tappet cam. you cannot use a roller cam in a flat tappet engine because roller cams often have steeper lobes which will get gouged by a flat tappet lifter

 

one more

 

Great pics. Thanks.

So it is basically money in parts, not anything extensive though like machine work then?

 

Wrong you can use roller lifters in any block. You cant't mix themm though, like roller cam with hydraulic lifters.