supermaxxbasher

alright my setup in my sig will remain the same other than I want to switch to a roller cam instead of a flat tappet. Which roller cam should I use Solid roller or hydrualic roller?

Here is one of each I listed..

Hydraulic roller....Xtreme Energy XR282HR Hydraulic Roller Camshaft Only
Lift: .510''/.520''
Duration: 282°/288°
RPM Range: 2200-5800

Solid roller....Xtreme Energy XR280R Mechanical Roller Camshaft Only
Lift: .570''/.576''
Duration: 280°/286°
RPM Range: 2500-6500

I would like to get some help on this one please. If you guys can look in my sig at my engine setup and tell me which cam might work better. YEs I do understand I have to retrofit this cam in my 79 block.Thanks in advance.

IF you could reccommend a brand of roller lifters to match the cam.

RB83L69

Those 2 cams aren't very comparable; the hyd is 230°/236°, the solid is 242°/248°.

A solid will run better, have better vacuum, make more RPMs, and otherwise outperform an equivalent hydraulic, every time.

Have you ever owned a solid cam before (roller or flat)?

Any brand of lifters will work. If you go solid and plan to drive it on the street, people are saying that the best ones to use for that are the Isky "Red Zone" ones; they have pressurized oil fed directly to the roller bearings. Other good ones are the Crower Severe Duty. But any will "work", as far as that goes.

You'll need better rockers, prefereably full roller ones, if you go to the solid. That's an extremely aggressive cam.

supermaxxbasher

No I havent owned a solid roller or flat tappet cam before but I do know that they require valve lash adjustments often.



Are the roller lifters compatiable for retrofiting a non roller block? WHere can I find these lifters(i.e. link),


Yeah after comparing those alittle more I htink I am gonna try and find a little less aggressive solid roller cam.

Thanks RB83L69

RB83L69

Yes they are "compatible". That's what all the rest of us had been building roller motors with for all those years we were building them, before teh factory came along with their stupidity and bastardized the whole concept, with special blocks and all that other foolishness.

Virtually every cam mfr makes solid roller lifters. I have some from Comp and some from Crower laying around myself right now; I've used Lunati and Crane ones in the past as well. There is a HUGE variety of them available; Comp alone has about 10 part #s for them for SBC, as opposed to 2 part #s of hyd rollers, and that's just in the catalog; they'll make up custom ones if you want. http://www.compcams.com/Technical/Cu...ML/282-289.asp They come in stock diameter, F*rd diameter, AMC diameter, and Chrysler diameter; offset on intake or exhaust left or right; horizontal link bars or vertical; normal oil band, or raised oil band for small base circle cams; various roller sizes and designs; and on and on and on.

In fact, I happen to have one of each of those cams you mention laying around right now too, come to think of it; here's the solid one. The hyd one is installed in a motor actually.

supermaxxbasher

I think I am gonna go for the solid roller cam. What are all the parts I need to retrofit one of these into a non roller block. I know I need the cam, Roller lifters, pushrods but thats where I cant remember what else i would need.

Stekman

Cam
Lifters
Pushrods
Timing set
Bronze distrib. gear (possibly, depending on cam)
Valve springs
Retainers
Locks

Those are the basics as well as the catch to solid rollers. They require COMPLETELY new valve trains. Can't run them under hydraulic springs or even mechanical flat tappet springs.

As for lifters, I have a set of Isky's. Not the red zones, just a set of their 'regular design' lifters. They are .350" taller to clear the factor roller or bowtie blocks. Other than that, I am not aware of any "factory roller designed" (87-up) solid roller lifter. Which would mean pretty much any SRL you get would be a retro fit design.



That's the setup I will be using.

DartByU

I also prefer solid rollers, as long as you willing to check and adjust the lash setting every once in awhile, and pease fix your Signature, I'm a machinist that ".40 over" is bugging the heck out of me, it should be .040 over!!!

supermaxxbasher

alright I fixed it that is the first time I have noticed that in 4 months. lol..

supermaxxbasher

dont they also require a solid roller cam button and a thrust plate? I am just trying to piece it together.

Stekman

Any retro-fit roller cam needs a thrust button. That controlls the forward motion. The back side of the timing gear hits the block, which prevents rearward movement. A torrington needle bearing spacer can be purchased to redude friction.

jrg77

does the block need any special machining to go from hydraulic flat to solid roller?

RB83L69

No.

That's one of the beautiful things about the original design roller system, as compared to the factory's stupidity, that's stupid and inferior in many more ways than just this one; it goes in any unmodified original-design block, any year, no modification whatsoever required. Except of course, the factory's stupidly modified blocks, have features about them that defeat the original system; so it's a little harder to put a real roller into one of them. The roller system has to be modified slightly (taller lifters so the link bars clear the block, maybe have it ground on a step-nose core, or make a spacer to simulate the cam retainer plate's thickness) to work around the factory's block alterations.

jrg77

In reading an article in chevy hi performance it indicated that the cost to go to a roller was at least double. Was that just for the hydraulic roller or is that for mechanical roller also?

RB83L69

www.summitracing.com

jrg77

how did you get the 230/236 and 242/248 numbers?

Thanks,
Jason

jrg77

does the block need any special machining to go from hydraulic flat to solid roller?

Stekman

MOST off the shelf solid roller cams for the Gen. I sbc are ground on retro-fit roller blanks. So no, no machining needed for the cam or lifters.

RB83L69

http://www.compcams.com/Technical/Cu...ML/128-169.asp

jrg77

I thought there was calculation trick I was missing

Sorry for the stupid questions

Jason