i have 2 bolt 454 at the machine shop now getting bored, honed, decked, washed and painted, new cam bearings and freeze plugs.

it will be stroked to 489, dart 310cc heads, b&m blower on top.

the cam i had in mind was a CRN-139021 .610/.632

is it a big job to go from hydraulic flat tappet to hydraulic roller? what will i need to covert? does ANY machine work need to be done?

 

None at all.

 

Wouldn't it just be a matter of new cam, lifters, pushrods and rockers?

 

Not rockers, necessarily.

Cam button. Sometimes front cover so the cam button has something solid to run against.

 

What about the lifter keys? Roller components have to be keyed to be in correct orientation at all times. Is this done with the lifter only or does there need to be addtional machining near the lifter bores.

 

There are no lifter keys with retrofit roller lifters.

 

BBC roller lifters either hydraulic or solid use a link bar to keep them aligned. The vertical bar lifters are better but horizontal bar lifters will work just as well.

Rockers don't care what lifters you use but you will need to get proper length pushrods. You can't guess at the length. Using a pushrod checker, you find what length pushrods will give the best valve train geometry and order the proper length pushrods. Too many factors affect the length so there's no way to guess at what it might be. Stock length pushrods will probably be wrong.

You will need a cam button to prevent cam walk. I use a poly button in my engine. It fits in the end of the cam gear and is held on by the retaining plate. The button butts up against the inside of the gear cover and prevents the cam from walking forward. Comp Cams also sells a metal button with a little bearing which does the same thing but the poly button is better. I use a standard chrome gear cover. Nothing special.

If the cam is billet and doesn't have a cast drive gear, you'll need a bronze distributor gear.

Going all out, you can spend a lot more by getting the lifter bores aligned and bushed to use the larger diameter lifters or to buy keyed lifters but for the majority of people, they don't need to do this. If you go that far you might as well buy T&D or Jesel rockers.

For street use, that cam will probably do fine. It's a low rpm blower grind. Power range is from 2200-6000 making it a good street cam. It's designed for a cruising rpm range of 3400-3800 so you're going to need gears and a converter, 3000+ stall speed. Trying to drive around on the street and keeping the rpm well below 3000 rpm to get good fuel mileage isn't an option.

 

so any retrofit roller lifters will fit? and i just need a cam button there are alot of different size how do i tell which one i need? do i need a retaining plate or locking plate, are they the same thing?

also what about spiders, dogbone, etc i dont need those?

 

Any BBC retro roller lifters will work. SBC ones will not.

Spiders and dogbones are for factory roller setups, you don't need those.

 

ok ill get some retro lifters to go with that.

i looked up some info. so i need a locking plate, a cam button(any way to determine the length i need?).

do i need a retaining plate and lifter link bars?

 

You don't need a locking plate. The length of the cam button will depend on how much clearance you have between the face of the cam and the inside of the timing cover. Retaining plates are for factory rollers, you don't need one. Retro rollers will come in pairs with the link bar.

 

ok so all i need is the cam and hydraulic roller lifters. get the right pushrods, and i need any kind of bbc rocker arms.

what about springs, any springs on the heads are fine?

 

If you're getting the Dart heads assembled, the springs they come with should be fine.

Only issue with rockers is if they'll handle the lift. Stock stamped probably won't (I guess I was a little hasty saying new rockers weren't needed - they might be). If I was in the market today, I'd get Comp Pro Magnum rockers.

 

From the sounds of your inexperience, I'd say your best bet would be to get an engine shop to build what you want correctly the first time. There's a good chance if you put it together, something will be wrong and you'll be paying for it twice. Building an engine properly means assembling and disassembling a few times before everything is correct.

 

i built my 350 last year, i just thought it would be alot harder to build a hyd roller from a hyd flat tappet.

 

It's exactly the same, just with one extra part (the cam button), and there's no break-in nonsense to worry about.

 

i like the whole non-break in for the cam idea

is this timing cover good? its aluminum and has adjustable cam button built in?
http://store.summitracing.com/partde...1&autoview=sku

also, ive been reading on the cam buttons. i put the cam gear on and chain, and the cam button goes on after that(i dont need a lock plate?), and i want about a business card of thickness .006" - .008" right? i just get a dial indicator and stick it in the middle of the timing cover and it will only go in .006" or whatever far if i have it setup right?

 

The cam button is there to keep the cam from walking forward. The length of the cam button is about .010" less than the distance from the face of the cam to the inside of the timing cover, when the cam sprocket is installed.

The Cloyes cover is ok. I like the Comp 2 piece or 3 piece cover better, if you've got the budget for it.

 

i know the cam button is so the cam doesnt forward, i just want to make sure i install it correctly.

when the timing cover says the cam button is already installed, does that mean its welded on or something on the other side of the timing cover and you can adjust it to make it longer so its correctly installed.

i'm probably making it out harder then it is. the dial indicator goes in and is like a plunger you just push on the dial indicator until there is only .006" and .008" of play right? just keep adjusting the cam button until its setup right.

 

It may or may not be adjustable. Probably not, though.

To check the cam end play, put the dial indicator on the face of the cam or the cam sprocket through a hole in the timing cover provided for that purpose, and then use a tool through one of the lifter bores to push the cam back and forth.

 

ok i get it, so id install everything on the front, then put the dial indicator in the hole and carefully use something like a flat head screwdriver and push the cam ahead and check the gauge. ok.

the headline for the cloyes cover says "adjustable cam button" so i assume it is.

 

will this cam CRN-139021 .610/.632 have a choppy idle at all?

 

i was reading on stroker motors, will i need to clearance the rods or get a small base circle cam?