whats up dudes, heres the car, 89 camaro, auto, it has a 89 350 roller truck block, fastburn heads, tpis miniram III, tpis zz409 cam, shorty headers, pulleys, no ac or smog pump, 52mm bbk tbody. im in the process of replacing the 350 for a later style two piece rear main seal "51509" 400 small block. here's my ploblem. i want to re use my zzz409 step nose cam into my new 400 block. what do i need to do this swap. my current roller block has a two bolt retaining plate and the 400 block has no provisions for this. i know that i have to use a roller cam timing chain and retrofit hydraoulic roller tappets. do you guys think using a cam button should work? any help is appreciated. also part numbers.

 

 

The cam button is what I was going to suggest. Just need to hold the cam in place so that it does not walk back and forth. Check with the cam manufacturors.

 

well after doing a lot of research and calling all the big three, crane, comp cams, and crower, it's just to big a deal to put my cam into this older motor.none of the big three knew how to do it. from the research that i read, the only to do it is to cut the ears off a standard roller retainer plate and cut the ears off and use that as a spacer, and then find some way to put a cam button on a later style roller timing chain, which no one seems to make. since no one makes that part, using a cloyes intetraged timing cover and adjustable cam button deal will also work, but the cloyes cover is 97 bucks. any ways it's too much in now. so i will be selling the cam. thank you anyway.

 

You just have to use the older true roller timing chain and gears and buy 3 tork bolts that fit the cam and roller timing gear and have a machine shop machine that cam button to press in to the front of that timing gear.

 

You could try having a machine shop make you a cam button, but there really isn't enough room between the bolts to hold one, and the work would cost you more than a new cam anyway.

 

Their is room if you use tork bolts and machine the cam button to be pressed into the timing gear. I did it and it works I'am running a sbc 408 with a roller cam. No cam walking. You don't have to have them make a button use the one you have are going to buy.