What is the best way to tell if you have a roller cam? I have my valve covers off already, so my guess would be to peek down at the lifters, but I don't know what I'm looking for. Thanks.

 

take intake manifold off if u have a spider web holder looking thing its roller. easy enough

 

Hehe...that would most likely be teh easier way, except that I have no real desire to take my intake manifold off at the moment... any other way?

 

Well if you have a 1987 car, with the factory motor, you have a hydraulic roller cam.

Oh yeah, an easy way to check would be to compare one of your pushrods to a flat tappet cammed motor. Your pushrods will be consideribly shorter.

 

I think his sig says he has a carbed LG4 or some such. I don't think those were roller motors. I think only the TPI motors had rollers. He'd need an LB9 or better to have a roller.

 

Yep, you can measure the pushrods if you'd like. hydra. roller will have roughly 7.3" pushrods whereas hydra. flat tappet will be 7.8"

Engine RPO does not designate roller block. Year does. Pre-86 was flat tappet, post-87 was factory roller, at least in passenger vehicles. I do not believe trucks got rollers until the Vortec in 96.

 

Genius i would have never thought of that! The 87 LG4 came with a roller cam IIRC, even though it was the base motor.

 

Good plan. Measured the pushroods, its a roller. Yay. Thanks