I have a zz4 cam that came out of my roller block

I am about to build a old school 350 2 piece rear main seal block and I want to know how to make the roller cam work

I know I have to buy h bar lifters and a cam button but I was wondering what else I may encounter

 

a little help please

 

Retro lfters are not worth the $$$ for a low buck zz4 cam build IMO. You will need a different timing chain, cam button, and pushrods also. Probably chaper to find a good factory roller block.

 

as long as you use a cam button and aftermarket lifters, you will be ok. i would suggest new cam bearings though, and if your going to spend the money on the lifters, then i would buy a new cam. and pushrods, and check your rocker arms, you may need those as well, you would want your old worn out parts wearing your new parts out. i have a 1975 350 block with a solid roller cam.

 

talk to your local machine shop they can buy wholesale engine parts that nobody else can, u can usually get parts for a third of the price if you buy from them.

 

personally i like the old school blocks a lot better. you can make more hp for less money and they are more reliable.

 

You will need the timing set for a factory roller setup, because the nose of the factory roller cam is different, to accomodate the retainer plate. You will need to get a factory retainer plate, and grind the ears off of it, and install it as a spacer; without it, the cam will sit .100" or however thick that retainer plate is, too far back in the block. You will need the original design roller lifters, that those of us who the factory got the idea for roller lifter from, have been using for decades (link-bars). You will have to have a cam button; but there isn't one made for the factory roller system, because that system doesn't need one. In fact, you will find that the 3 bolts that hold the cam sprocket to that type of cam, are SO CLOSE together on the factory roller sprocket, that a regular cam button won't fit down between them. You'll need to get a nylon one such as the one from Comp, and whittle on it until it will squeeze down in there.

You won't find that your machine shop can get the link-bar lifters for very much cheaper than you can. They're not a factory part that you can buy in bulk somewhere, unless your machine shop is buying an ENORMOUS number of them (like, tens of thousands a month....) Expect that lifter set to cost you between $350 and $450.

In other words, you're running ALOT of maze, for very little cheese. And spending ALOT of money on a cam that's just not worth that kind of expense. OK cam, if you have something really terrible now (like, a stock one) and you can drop one in for $150. Not so good, if you have to spend $600. If this engine is a 305, it's REALLY REALLY not worth it; you're putting lipstick on a pig. A HIGHLY INEFFICIENT use of funds. You'd get more bang for your $$$ by leaving it in your bank account and saving up for a 4" bore kit.

There is no material difference between "old school" blocks and the newer ones as far as "reliability" or how much power they'll make, except that quality control SUCKED back in the day, and the newer ones are MUCH better about things like core shift, accurate machining, and so forth. I'd MUCH rather have a newer block, at least if I was building a little bitty motor like a 383 or anything even smaller.

 

reliability meant the wthe engine as a whole not just the block. carb vs. fuel injection. and your right building a 305 would be a total waste of money, they blow, but hea said he wants to build a 350. and as far as old blocks not being machined as good out of the factory, that is also true, but who would build a 30 year old block with out having it re machined, that would be a waste of money, so they quality of the machine work isnt up to the factory any more it is up to your machinest.

 

Not to be a jerk, but....

I just quoted what I read, that's all.

Carb vs FI has NOTHING WHATSOEVER to do with the block. You can put either on any.

Besides which, the OP didn't ask about any of that; he asked about BLOCKS, and putting a factory roller cam into an original design block.

The machine work I'm talking about ISN'T the stuff you do as part of normal maintenance. Nobody in their right mind (for that matter, not even I) would try to build a motor if the block needed that kind of repair. I'm talking about stuff your "machinest" CAN'T fix, specifically some of the more blatant screw-ups FROM THE FACTORY that those of us who have been building motors for a few decades have learned to avoid or at least try to. Stuff like, the casting cores shifted so far that there are thin places that either leak from porosity, or are fragile, or that are stress risers; starter bolt holes drilled in the wrong place; lifter bores that don't point straight at the cam; cylinders that aren't perpendicular to the crank, or are so far to the front or rear that the rods don't meet the crank journals; crank bores that aren't perpendicular to the bell housing face; decks that aren't parallel to the crank centerline; .... I could go on but I won't. All of that, is the stuff that creates "problem" motors for people that you hear about, when they can't figure out why their motor always has coolant in the oil, or eats cams, or won't start, or whatever. Newer blocks, since the mid 80s or so, tend not to have those problems so bad. After GM got its butt kicked in the marketplace so bad for so long on account of building crappy cars, they cleaned up their act quite a bit, and it REALLY shows in the amount of just raw defective parts that end up in new cars.

 

I have to agree that buying all those extra, expensive parts just to run a ZZ4 cam really isn't worth it. If it was a more radical cam, maybe it'd be worth it, but even then, it just doesn't add up. Lunati's Voodoo series flat tappet cams are quite impressive, as well as Comp's Xtreme Energy line. It really makes more sense money and performance wise to go that route. I'm running a Crower flat tappet cam in my 69 Camaro, and I really can't complain about it at all. It makes tons of power, and I can't even remember the last time I had to adjust the valves. I'd also suggest getting a set of the variable duration lifters such as Rhodes and Crane offer. They help improve low end torque and give you a better vacuum signal without sacrificing top end power. My Crower is pretty radical, and I run power brakes with no problems, and it'll roast the tires from a dead stop. So get a set of those lifters if you decide to stick with a flat tappet cam. The retrofit roller cams are a damn nice setup, but to me, it's just too cost prohibitive for a street driven car. If it was a dragstrip only situation, it might be worth the extra cash I guess.

 

Especially since I read in your other post that your sticking with 416 heads. Definately NOT worth it, these heads will never flow enough without extensive porting (even then...more money wasted) to keep up with a modern (comp XFI etc...) roller cam!! Go with a voodoo or an comp xe flat tappet, you wont be dissapointed.

 

If you really want to do it then do what makes you happy. You can find ZZ4 cams for under a $100 brand new these days anyways. Under $50 used, just check the lobes for funky wear or pitting.

You do not need to buy a cam button and modify it to fit the OEM style roller cams. Lingenfelter already has a cam button kit (nylon cam button, modified thrust plate and bolts) that was made to retrofit their OEM step nose style cams into early blocks (Lingenfelter part # LN0270). Like it was mentioned, you'll still need to use the late model timing set.

http://www.lingenfelter.com/Merchant...Category_Code=

I've used that kit in a few motors with out any problems. Aftermarket hyd. roller lifters will have to be used since the OEM style won't. Factory roller cam motors don't use a regular iron distributor gear. Best to use the GM melanized distributor gear. The MSD melonized gear don't seem to last as long.

Late model roller blocks (pre LT-1) were prone to cracking in the lifter valley area. Haven't had my blocks crack there but I received a core from a friend that I was thinking of building off of with a good 5" crack in the valley area. My engine builder pointed out to me that it was a common thing with those blocks since the valley area was on the thin side and has showed me many blocks he had to scrap or weld because of it. Another engine builder I sometimes take work to also varified that he'll sometimes sonic test late roller blocks in the lifter valley area for wall thickness.

Just my .02 cents. Take it for what it's worth.